


Tuesday Staff Meetings

by Thirdly



Category: Original Work
Genre: Drama, Humor, Light-Hearted, M/M, Romance, Slash, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 18:07:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10599357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thirdly/pseuds/Thirdly
Summary: On Seth's big day, he runs into a bout of bad luck. COMPLETE





	1. Seth's Dilemma

Our staff meeting generally landed on the first Tuesday of every month. Any kind of rescheduling resulted in making the receptionist feel as if she had to juggle balls as she attempted to rope every department head in on the same day, a nearly impossible task. I, Seth Slater, was the assistant to one of the department heads. The best one, if you asked my opinion. The woman was wise, humorous, and rarely judged others.

She was also so laid back that the some of the employees secretly referred to her as ‘The Hippie.’ They had names for all the department heads. The Irish Temper, The Tycoon, The Overachiever, The Flower, The Mouse, and Nearly St. Nick. Only half of the department heads had assistants to call their own. Though it took me a few months per person, I managed to get along with most of them.

One of the other assistants had a fifty-fifty chance of either impressing me or aggravating the daylights out of me. His name was Liam. He was the kind of person that had a blinding personality. Over-confident, over-friendly, over-energetic…and overly-annoying, if you asked me. Don’t get me wrong, he had his moments. Anyone could clearly see that he was a born leader and would take over his department head’s position seamlessly when his boss retired. But, he was also lazy when it came to documenting, always charming his way around the office asking others to do his paperwork for him. Those kinds of charms never worked on me. We had worked together on a few projects before, and he pulled his own weight each time.

The staff meeting for that Tuesday had butterflies squirming around in my stomach in pure nerves. My department head, and the best boss I ever had, was going to retire. That meant that, if everything went well, I would take over her position. It was what I had been groomed and trained for over the past five years that I had worked with her and the company. I had the perfect suit set aside for the meeting. The suit jacket and pants were a dark grey with softer gray pinstripes. The button shirt was a dark teal and the tie was black. The pants were always a little tight, due to my ample backside, but I’ve had the same issue with the majority of my work pants.

I had on my favorite pair of boxers, not that I believed them lucky or anything. They were black with printed pokeballs everywhere. Stop judging me, they gave me confidence. Speaking of confidence, I was all but brimming with it when I entered the building. The butterflies were still there, but they were dwarfed by the feeling of accomplishment and progress. This was bound to one of the best meetings of my career. The receptionist reminded me that the meeting would be held in fifteen minutes. I flashed her a smile and thanked her and then walked over to my office. I quickly grabbed the notepad and clipboard that I always used for the staff meetings, but my comfort-grip pen slid off its holder onto the floor. With a soft curse, I bent down to get it and was mortified by a ripping sound.

But, that particular mortification was nothing compared to the low whistle that I heard from behind me.

“Flashing your pokeballs? Are you trying to ‘catch’ me, Seth?”

I let out a low groan as I stood back up and turned around to face Liam, my face burning with shame. “This isn’t funny, Liam!” I hissed, forcibly keeping my tears at bay. “Why do these kinds of things keep happening to me during the worst of times?” My mind was racing as I tried to think of what to do. My gym bag had a spare set of shorts and sweatpants, but that was most definitely not suitable for a staff meeting. Maybe if I wrapped the arms of my jacket around my waist? That’d probably draw more attention than the rip!

“Hey, hey,” Liam called out in a rare soft tone of voice. “Calm down. I actually have a spare set of pants that you might be able to pull off. Granted, they’re not…”

“I’ll take them!” I responded unflinchingly.

An expression of slight shock formed on Liam’s face before he rubbed the back of his neck. “Alright…if you’re sure.” He conceded.

Ten minutes later, my face was still slightly flushed as I walked into the conference room and took a seat next to my boss.

“Wow, nice bold statement there, Seth. Didn’t know you had it in you.” She teased in a whisper.

“This day couldn’t end fast enough,” I grumbled under my breath as I pointedly tried to ignore the smug and salacious expression on Liam’s face. Just who the hell kept a spare pair of leather pants in their office?

The other department heads and their assistants filed in and the staff meeting finally began. On the one hand, I was grateful to Liam. On the other hand, I was still quite mortified at the stray thought that he somehow managed to get me into his pants.

 


	2. Liam Again?

_“You even had them dry cleaned? You needn’t have gone so far, Seth.”_

_“Consider it another way of saying ‘thanks’.”_

_:::_

 

I shook my head as I recalled the reaction of my co-worker, Liam Lux, when I handed him back his leather pants the day after the ‘ripping’ incident. In spite of the pants, the meeting had gone along well. With my new position came better pay, so I decided that I should buy several sets of work pants that wouldn’t rip upon bending down to pick anything up.

 

The problem with pants, in general, was that it was difficult to find pairs that fit me well all-around. Pants that were able to encompass my large, round ass were usually too long and wide everywhere else. Pants that fit my legs perfectly were always too tight on top. Sometimes, I compromised by getting larger sizes and a belt, but I hated the way the fabric bunched up and the belt would dig into my lower back.

 

That weekend, I was determined to find at least four well-fitting pants even if it killed me. As I slid the hangers aside one at a time, I made a strangled noise when I caught sight of a set of leather pants on the rack. My hand automatically reached out to touch it. The material was quite nice. I lifted one of the legs of the pants and noted a softer lining on the inside.

 

Just why _did_ Liam have a pair of leather pants at the office? Did he wear them out on dates?

 

The smug look on his face when I walked into the meeting in his pants came to the front of my mind. Letting out a sharp breath through my nose, I quickly slid the hanger of the leather pants aside and continued my search. I was a department head now and I had to look like one.

 

:::

 

I frowned at the light shining through the window. My alarm had yet to go off, so I merely turned my head the other way. I slept on my stomach, so it wasn’t very difficult to do. Slowly, my mind began to nag at me for some reason, trying to keep me awake. Was the sun usually up when my alarm clock goes off?

 

NO, no it normally _isn’t_!

 

With a start, I grabbed my cell phone and looked at the time. I had fifteen minutes to get ready or I wouldn’t get to work on time.

_“Shit!”_ I hissed as I leaped right out of bed and rushed about.

 

Luckily, I had already laid out what clothes to wear the night prior. I took a five minute shower and brushed back my short black hair, leaving it to air dry. I then brushed my teeth and inspected my face. Blue-grey eyes peered back at me as I began to shave. My shaver was electric, which help cut the time, but it still took careful precision. After a touch of after shave and cologne, I rushed about tugging my clothes on, leaving the dress shirt unbuttoned as I grabbed my suitcase and all but dove into my car.

 

:::

 

I has just finished buttoning up my shirt in the elevator when I saw a briefcase holding the door open. Liam stepped inside.

 

“Running late, too?” I asked as I fixed my collar.

 

“Yeah, traffic was terrible this morning. And then I couldn’t find a good parking spot.” He responded as he ran a hand through his auburn hair.

 

When his curious honey-hued eyes looked me over, I averted my gaze.

 

“So, Seth?” He questioned, the usual teasing tilt in his voice. “What kind of boxers are you wearing today?”

 

“Batman’s bat signal,” I all but growled in reply. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

 

“You’re right, you’re right,” He agreed, but the smile was still wide on his face. “But, that won’t stop me from trying to imagine them!”

 

The elevator doors opened just as he said the last bit, and he rushed off to his office, which only aggravated me further. He always somehow managed to escape before I could thwack him with my briefcase in retaliation. Instead, I could feel the blush rising to my face even as I passed the receptionist.

 

“Liam again?” She mused. Her name was Kathryn. Her eyes were green, her skintone was mocha, and her hair was a naturally curly brown. She always had a different color or design of nail polish every week in a length that was a bit longer than what was recommended for ‘business best,’ but she deserved the small privilege due to her excellent work ethic.

 

“Do me a favor and just _try_ not to mention that name for the rest of the day, please?” I pleaded.

 

“I’m not making any such promises,” She retorted. “You know I don’t believe that bull about not dating anyone from work…”

 

Kathryn and my retired boss were the only women in the office that knew that I was gay. They also knew that I lived alone and that I had my own brand of OCD. But, my retired boss never pestered me about dating like the receptionist did. For reasons beyond me, she kept trying to shove Liam at me.

 

“Not interested.” I stated.

 

“Leather pants,” She pointed out.

 

“Could be a Harley Davidson fan.”

 

“Only flirts with _you_ ,” She insisted.

 

“No, he _aggravates_ me for his own amusement.” I countered.

 

At this point, she placed her hands on her hips and frowned at me. “Why don’t you want to give him a chance? When was the last time you even dated somebody?” She scolded.

 

I was taken aback for a moment. But, I shook my head. “I need to clock in.” I said as I tried not to rush past her and closed the office door behind me with a sigh.

 

When I turned the computer on, the sound of a new message alerted me to a notice about the staff meeting at 11 o’clock. Was it already the first Tuesday of the month?

 

:::

 

Time seemed to fly fast for the first few hours of work. I returned a few phone calls and processed a stack of paperwork. I was about to start sorting out how to coordinate an event when another alert chimed on my desktop that it was nearing 11.

 

The department heads and a few assistants filed into the conference room. To my horror, Liam took a seat beside me. The first fifteen minutes of the meeting were productive. Everyone noted key events and changes on their calendars and planners. However, as the meeting continued to drag on, there were more than a few glazed eyes in the room.

 

A nudge at my elbow startled me and I turned to see a half-grin on Liam’s face. He motioned towards his notepad and my eyes widened. The punk had doodled a pair of boxers with the batman signal on the corner of his page. I couldn’t fight the slight blush that streaked across my nose and cheeks. But, I reached over to quickly scribble all over the doodle in ink so that it was no longer recognizable.

 

Liam’s hand took hold of my wrist and I allowed him to remove it from his page. However, he then tugged the hand beneath the staff table and began writing something on my palm in pen. I made a move as if to tug my hand back, but he held it firmly in place. I glanced around and was relieved to see that everyone’s attention was on the overhead projector.

 

Not a moment later, we were dismissed, and Liam was the first out the door. I looked at my palm and balked at what was written there. The man had written his private cell phone down with the words ‘text me after work hours’ underneath.


	3. Sensible and Shameless

_“Did you have anything to do with this?” I questioned Kathryn on the way back to my office as I all but shoved the number on my palm in front of her face._

_“I neither confirm nor deny that I had **anything** to do with it... **directly**.” She replied airily._

_I let out a sharp breath of air through my nose. But, once I sat back down at my desk, I stared at the numbers on my palm. Without giving it much thought, I reached for one of my business cards and jotted the number down on the back of it._

_:::_

 

What remained of the work day was spent trying to be productive with small tasks. The staff meetings on Tuesdays always took up a chunk of time that could have been spent on bigger projects. After work, I spent a little time at the gym. I staggered my days, and only exercised for the sake of health, not for definition. When I got back to my humble house, I ate a light dinner, tried not to remain under the warm spray of the shower for too long, and tugged on a pair of comfortable pajama shorts before deciding on which series to continue reading.

 

I had to admit that my parents were the creative sort, the ones that put their own spin on the fairy tales they told us before bedtime. When I turned ten years old, I took to reading at night, allowing my younger siblings the privilege of our parents’ tale spins. I didn’t mind, as I had already memorized the tales by heart.

 

With the chosen book at hand, I began setting out the clothes for the next day. As I laid out the pants, I was reminded of the card with Liam’s number on it. The other man clearly enjoyed torturing me so much that he wanted to extend that torture for his own amusement. And yet, I was curious.

 

I drummed my fingers on top of the cover of the book in my hands for a moment before walking over to my bedside table and picking up my cell phone. I saved Liam’s number under the Contact name ‘Irritant’ and paused when I reached the text box.

 

**Irritant   8:30PM**

 

If this is really Liam the Irritant, then you’re taking up my valuable reading time. > 

_< Seth? Hold on, let me save you under my Contacts. _

 

That was the fastest response I’ve ever received. A part of me is already concerned. What did you save my name as? >

_< I was worried wouldn’t even contact me. As for the Contact name, maybe you’ll see it for yourself one day? ; ) _

I wouldn’t count on that. >

 

_< So cold. : (  But, you’re not getting rid of me that easily! Tell me, do you wear boxers to bed?_

You do know that if either of us dies in a suspicious manner, some poor soul will have to read all of this, don’t you? >

_< All the more reason to give them something interesting to read about! _

I paused, unsure of how to respond to that. However, Liam quickly sent another message.

 

_< If I solemnly swear not to tell/show another living person any of our conversations, will you appease my curiosity?_

…fine. No, I don’t wear boxers to bed.  I wear pajama bottoms. >

 

_< Sounds sensible. I prefer not to wear anything at all. _

You are a shameless one. >

 

_< Sensible and Shameless are starting to sound like the perfect Contact names for the both of us. If I rename yours ‘Sensible’ would you change mine to ‘Shameless?’ _

…perhaps. >

 

_< LMAO. I tell ya, if the people at work could only see your sense of humor…_

I can only imagine what they think of me, but I don’t really care. >

 

_< Yeah? Well, it’s quite the privilege for me to be one of the few that see glimpses of the real you._

I felt my heart skip a beat. No, absolutely not. I refused to acknowledge such a thing. Liam was surely teasing, as always.

 

What makes you think that you see glimpses of the real me in the first place? Are you sure you’re not just delusional? >

 

_< Delusional? I might be. But, I want to continue to be, if it gets me any closer to you._

Another pause. I couldn’t even begin to figure out how to respond to that. Luckily, I didn’t have to.

 

_< I really am serious, you know? I always have been. The reason I keep running off on you is not just because I know you’ll attack me if I keep still long enough. _

It’s not? >

 

_< No. I’m more worried that I’d end up doing something that’d scare you…that I’d go too far. I mean, you barely even allowed me to write my number down on your hand. _

Liam…what do you want from me? Why are you going through all this trouble? >

 

_< I thought it’d be obvious by now. I want you to go out on a date with me…no, more like **five** dates, at the very least!_

Five…are you out of your _mind_? Five dates? With _me_? Are you sure about this?  >

 

_< Oh, I’m definitely sure. Allow me five dates this month, and if you still don’t want anything to do with me afterward, then I’ll respect your decision. _

My mind began to race. All of it seemed too good to be true, too ideal. I would finally be rid of the irritant that was Liam? The teasing and aggravation would finally stop?

 

Do you really mean it? You would leave me alone if it’s what I ask of you after five dates? >

 

_< I swear it. I’ll respect your decision if you give me this chance. _

…alright, then. What day do you have in mind for the first date? >

 

_< I must be dreaming. You’re off Fridays too, right? How about starting with lunch this Friday? 12:30PM?_

Sounds reasonable. Where? >

 

_< There’s a restaurant/lounge called Longitudes that’s about 10 minutes away from our work building. They serve a delicious grilled portabella burger._

That portabella burger’s amazing. I went there with Kathryn and my old boss once. Never took you for a veggie burger kind of guy. >

 

_< I’m not. But, I’ve seen **you** eat them during our lunch break._

Tch. Didn’t realize you were that much of a stalker. Should I regret my decision? >

 

_< Are you going back on your word already? You promised me five dates._

*sigh* I did, didn’t I? Guess we’ll have to wait and see how they turn out. >

_< Whew. You had me going there for a second. Hard to tell when you’re playing or not, which is all the more reason I want to get to know you better. _

Be careful what you wish for. Is it really 9 PM already? My bedtime book awaits, as does sleep. So, good night. >

 

_< It certainly is a good night now! See you tomorrow at work. : )_

I closed out of the message and set my alarm before setting the phone back down on my bedside table. I opened the book on my lap and refused to acknowledge the butterflies in my stomach. But, after five minutes of trying to concentrate on the same paragraph, I let out a sigh and set the bookmark back in place. After putting the book away, I laid down and grabbed my phone, unlocking it so that I could read the messages once again. As an afterthought, I went back into my contacts and changed ‘Irritant’ to ‘Shameless’ before setting the phone back down, turning off the lamp, and going to sleep.


	4. I'll Hold You to it

As I walked into the building from the parking garage, it really began to sink in. Liam's teasing hadn't all been for fun, it was his way of building up to asking me out. Lux had somehow gotten me to promise him five dates in a month. My morning routine felt a bit off. I arrived so early that there was hardly anyone walking around. I had the elevator to myself, which was a rarity. As the elevator shaft rose to the fourth floor, I completely spaced out.

When the elevator doors opened, I was actually startled. Pretending that I hadn't just nearly had a heart attack, I made my way over to my office. Kathryn was already there.

She let out a gasp at just the glance of me. "What happened?"

Feeling startled once again, I clutched my briefcase to my chest. "Wh-what do you mean?" I feigned ignorance. Did she already know? Wasn't she in cahoots with Liam the entire time?

"Is it the family? Did someone die?" She questioned.

Her words caused a frown to form on my face. "I look like someone _died?_ " I countered.

At that moment, door that led to the stairs beside the elevators swung open and out walked a ridiculously cheerful Liam Lux.

"Good morning, everyone!" He all but sung despite the fact that there were only a handful of people on their floor. "It's almost the weekend, keep those spirits up!"

I let out a groan and covered my face with a hand and begged the universe to grant me patience and poise. Why had it ever occurred to me to text him in the first place? Why did I have to appease my curiosity? And, damn it, _why_ did I agree to any of this?

"Morning, Kat," Liam greeted as he approached. "Morning Seth."

"Well, aren't _you_ upbeat so early in the morning?" Kathryn commented. "Looking forward to the weekend?"

When those honey-hued eyes glanced my way, I felt my treacherous heart skip a beat. What the hell? No, stop doing that, heart.

"More than anything else," He replied.

I sent him a questioning glance. Was he going to tell her everything? But, my fears were laid to rest when he simply grinned and waved.

"I'll catch you two later." Liam said as he walked towards his own office.

I let out the breath of air I didn't even realize I was holding. When I looked over at Kathryn, I was surprised to see a pout on her face. "What's wrong?" I wondered aloud.

"It's just that I was really rooting for the two of you to end up together…" She began.

I nearly dropped my briefcase.

"But, it sounds like he got himself a hot date." Kathryn concluded.

"Yeah, well, good for him." I muttered as I rushed over to my office before she could see me blush.

Once at my desk, I covered my face with both my hands and took a deep breath. For the time being, Liam didn't out us about our dating situation. Did he want to keep our dating private, or did he merely want to allow me the choice of whether to tell others or not?

For me, it was a mercy. I had a personal list of 'Dreads.' For instance, I dreaded the very thought of embarrassing myself. I blushed easily, and everywhere, which would bring about more amusement from others but would only make me want to hide away. As much as I embarrassed myself on a daily basis, I still dreaded it. I have also always been one of _those_ people...the kind that dreads bringing anyone into their home if it's not spotless and downright sanitary.

I couldn't even sleep if I knew that there were dishes still in the sink. The thought of the dishes sitting there, undone, would just bounce around in my mind until it drove me crazy. The only exception was if I fell ill. Having no energy to do anything always won out. Falling ill was most definitely on my list of 'Dreads,' along with hiccoughs. Yes, hiccoughs. That'd be a story for another day.

After I had logged in and checked my work e-mails for updates and tasks, I nearly jumped two feet off my chair at the sound of my phone vibrating. I always made sure to set my phone to vibrate before leaving the house so that it wouldn't ring during work hours. I quickly unlocked the screen to find a new message from 'Shameless.'

**Shameless** **9:30AM**

_So, am I picking you up tomorrow for our date or are you coming over to pick me up at my place?_

I thought we were just going to meet up there?

_I have a lot more planned than just lunch. I figured driving two cars everywhere could get annoying after a while._

Darn, and here I thought after lunch I'd be scot free. If that's the case, then you should pick me up. Don't make me regret this decision.

_As much as I'd_ _**like** _ _to keep you the entire day, I promise to have you back by 8PM. Wouldn't want you to miss your bedtime book time. ; )_

That sounds terrible when you say it. And I'm not sure I want to spend an entire 8 hours with you.

_I don't bite, not unless you_ _**want** _ _me to. I even have all my shots._

…this is not the type of conversation we should be having during work hours.

_Wait, biting actually does it for you?_

(I felt an uncontrollable blush coming on)

How the hell did you reach _that_ conclusion?

_Ok…then it's probably_ _**nibbling** _ _, judging by your reaction._

…consider yourself lucky if I don't murder you before the day is over.

_I'm so right. I should have asked you to text me a long time ago, you're a hoot!_

(I let out a snort at this. Either the fool believed it was an idle threat or he was a glutton for punishment.)

And _you_ seem to have a death wish.

_I'll tell you what, if at any time during our date you feel like you can't spend another minute in my presence, I will drive you straight back home._

Good to know. I'll hold you to it.

_You'll hold me to it? I'd rather you just hold_ _**me.** _ _; )_

*irritated sigh* What do you know? Time to get back to work.

:::

As I set the phone aside, I was relieved that Liam didn't add a response and left it at that. Guess he didn't want to press his luck. I got back into my usual work routine, the hours passing by at a steady rate, when I was forwarded a staff e-mail about staff profiles and contact updates. I opened and uploaded the file to my current contacts to update the information.

I don't know what possessed me to scroll down the column about birthdays, but when I got to Liam Lux, my eyes opened wide. His birthday was Friday! _This_ Friday. All of a sudden, it all made sense…why Liam was bolder than usual and more aggravatingly insistent. He considered this whole _dating_ thing as a birthday gift to himself.

I dropped my head against the back of my computer chair and frowned up at the ceiling. To be honest, I had planned several scenarios that would allow me to cut out of the blasted date early enough to relax at home watching a marathon of one of my favorite shows. But, birthdays were a big thing in my family. I was raised to honor birthdays, in one way or another, for those around me.

_Damn._

:::

The rest of the work day went on as normal. Liam did stop on his way out to wish Kathryn a good weekend, but mentioned nothing about me, which proved that he wanted to keep things quiet. A big group was waiting for the elevator. I felt a light tug at my elbow and looked over to see that Liam was holding the door to the stairs open for me, motioning with his head in an invitation to join him. I briefly glanced at the elevator doors one last time before ultimately walking over to the auburn-haired man.

"I'd have joined you for lunch, but my team decided to go eat somewhere together." Liam explained as we walked down the steps together.

"Yes, as you stated in your text. That's funny, I don't remember asking you to join _me_ at all." I pointed out.

"Ouch, that one almost hurt," He stated a he clutched a hand to his chest dramatically. "Besides, I was going to ask _you_ to join _me_."

"Excuse me," stated one of our co-workers as he brushed past us with longer strides.

Liam reacted quickly, grabbing hold of my waist and tugging my body closer to his to allow the man enough room.

I could all but hear my own heartbeat thudding loudly. It was absolutely ridiculous. However, when I glanced up at Liam's face, his honey-hued eyes were already looking right at me. The gaze was unflinching and serious. The heat and determination I saw behind those eyes startled me.

"Well, th-there's always Monday, if you're so adamant about it." I said the words without even thinking. But, at that moment, my entire being was warning me to put as much distance between myself and

Liam as possible. I started walking a little faster down the next set of stairs and waited for him at the bottom, not wanting to seem like the complete and utter coward that I was.

Liam caught up to me in mere seconds. "Monday?" He repeated as he took one of my hands. "I'll hold you to it."

I didn't know whether to complain about the hand holding or to huff about the fact that he threw my own words back at me. I didn't react fast enough and ended up being tugged along down the rest of the stairs. As soon as we exited into the parking garage, I tugged my hand back.

Either it didn't discourage the other man, or he thought that I didn't want us to be seen holding hands. But, he walked me all the way to my car.

"The Kia Forte in phantom grey. I should have known." He mused out loud.

"There's _no_ way you would have known." I scoffed as I pulled the keys out of my pocket

"It makes the blue of your eyes stand out when you're next to it." He added with a shrug. "It's like the grey of the car subdues the grey in them."

"Seeing as how I can't look at myself, I wouldn't know." I responded. I was actually impressed that Liam caught the grey in my eyes in the first place. But, I sure as hell wasn't about to tell him that.

"Don't forget to text me your address when you get home." He called out as I closed the door.

I merely waved good-bye and pulled out of the parking spot.


	5. Weather-Appropriate

**_Shameless   10:00AM_ **

_< Be sure to wear something comfortable and weather-appropriate. _

 

I must have stared at the message on my phone every five minutes. You see, my closet was full of work clothes along with clothes that were considered to be business casual. My drawers had my gym clothes. But, I had _nothing_ that I would consider to be ‘weather-appropriate.’ The temperature would be in the 70s during the majority of the day.

The previous night, I had texted Liam my address, as he requested. Once again, we ended up texting back and forth until it was too late to truly read any of my book series. Not once had he mentioned where we were going and what we were doing after lunch.

I covered my lower face with a hand as I took inventory of my clothes and shook my head. As difficult as it was to believe, I still came up with nothing. I couldn’t very well open the door naked, though it would have surely gotten quite the reaction from Lux. I shifted in place, my hands falling to my waist, when a thought occurred to me.

My youngest brother slept over in my guest room on the occasional weekend whenever he couldn’t stand the noise in the dorms of his college. He usually left a set of clothes and underwear for emergencies in the smaller drawer of the guest room. As a college student, he wore nothing _but_ casual and comfortable clothing.

Ever since he grew my height when we were kids, we would borrow each other’s clothes now and then. I felt rather hopeful as I entered the guest room and opened the small drawer. I set aside his clean white briefs, as I wouldn’t need those. The knee-length khaki cargo shorts would have to do. I was then faced with three options when it came to the shirt. Three _terrible_ options With a frown, I set aside the neon pink shirt with white polka dots. I was then left with two shirts with writing on them. I let out a long sigh and set aside the bright blue shirt with ‘orgasm donor’ printed in white with a health cross.

I lifted the final, chosen shirt, and briefly recalled when my brother gave me a similarly styled pair of boxers as a gift. I walked back to my room and rummaged around in my cabinet for those boxers before heading into the shower.

By the time I was done, I heard the doorbell. Immediately, I felt a mixture of apprehension and discomfort. Regardless of those feelings, I made my way to the door. I was confused at what I saw on my security monitor. Even after I opened the door, the confusion lingered. A simple bouquet of orange roses was shoved into my arms.

“Wh-why…?” I stumbled as I took a step back to allow Liam to walk in. I clutched the bouquet to my chest as my voice took on a suspicious tone. _“Why?”_

“Why orange? I heard they symbolized enthusiasm, desire and excitement,” Liam explained as he took a look around. “Thought it was fitting, as it’s what I’ve been feeling since you agreed to go out with me.”

The auburn-haired man’s smile was downright blinding. But, I refused to allow it to distract me. I let out a sound that sounded close to a grunt and walked over to the kitchen to find a small decorative vase that my mother had given me as a housewarming gift. Liam continued to look around as I placed the flowers in the vase with some water.

“Your place is really nice. I didn’t expect it to be this color scheme, though…” Liam mused out loud.

“What colors did you expect?” I asked in curiosity.

“Whites, greys, and blacks.” Liam admitted sheepishly. “Pale greens, creams, and browns are loads better, though!”

I shrugged. “I liked the furniture set, so I painted the walls accordingly.” When I stepped back out of the kitchen, the look on Liam’s face turned into one of shock.

“Are you really wearing that shirt?” He all but laughed.

I felt my cheeks heat up. “It’s quite literally the only thing I had that seemed appropriate for the weather.” I explained. “It’s really my younger brother’s. The shorts, too.” In spite of my embarrassment, I was relieved to see Liam wearing similar clothing. He had on a pair of dark grey cargo shorts and a well-fitting heather grey shirt.

Liam suddenly stood up straight with a puzzled look on his face. “Wait, are you…?” He began to ask. “Are you wearing ‘Kiss me, I’m Irish’ _boxers,_ too?”

“What do you know? It’s time for lunch,” I responded dryly as I motioned towards the door. “Shouldn’t we be heading out now?”

I heard Liam gasp as I walked past him and opened the door.

“You so are!” He deduced.

I covered my red face with a hand. “Can we just go already?”

“Our date hasn’t even started yet, and it’s already one of the best days I’ve ever had.” He added as he finally stepped outside.

No, it was already one of the _worst_ days, if you asked me. Liam was wise enough not to mention my brother’s green shirt and my underwear again as we entered his car. His was white Corolla. After buckling myself in, I saw Liam snickering out of the corner of my eye and turned to glare at him.

“What?” I questioned.

“It’s just that your brother sounds like a fun kid.” He stated before pulling out of my driveway. “And green looks good on you too. I’d like to thank him some day.”

“Tch,” I scoffed. “And the flowers were a bit much for a first date, don’t you think?”

“Not when it’s you, Seth.” He responded as he continued to look out ahead at the road.

His words caused a strange sensation in my gut. It was probably just indigestion.

Our drive to the bar/restaurant Longitudes was full of idle chatter. Liam wanted to know what kind of gift my receptionist Kathryn would like. He asked my brother’s name, which was Michael. And he asked what he was studying in college, which was Computer Programming.

When we arrived, we both walked inside and were quickly seated at one of the empty tables. I ordered the glorious grilled portabella burger. Liam ordered himself a chargrilled burger. For drinks, I ordered the pineapple juice and Liam had a Sprite.

“So how many are there in your family? You mentioned having siblings in the plural sense at work,” Liam pointed out.

“There are four of us, actually.” I admitted, a smile forming on my face as I thought of them. “I’m the oldest. After me there’s Antoine and Cara, fraternal twins…and finally Michael. My parents did rather well raising all four of us. We all have such different personalities, considering we grew up together. Antoine is very laid back, Cara is quick-witted, and Michael’s equal parts studious as he is ridiculous.”

“That explains the shirt.” Liam mused.

“Yeah, his crazy shirts.” I agreed. “We shared a room and it drove me crazy not being allowed to clean his messy side of it. My OCD is apparently as bad as my grandmother’s.” I shook my head. “What about you, what’s your family like?”

“I’m an only child,” Liam replied. “But, I did have close cousins that would knock me down a few pegs.”

Our food arrived and our conversation slowed down in favor of eating. I was surprised at the lack of awkwardness between us. Since it was just lunch in a fairly public place during the daytime, I guess my guard was reasonably down. When we finished our food and drinks, I felt full and satisfied. Despite his attempt, I made sure to pay for my half when it came time to pay the bill.

Not a moment later, we were back in Liam’s car. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going _now_?” I asked him.

A secretive smile formed on his face, one that irritated me to no end. “You’ll see soon enough.” He answered as he connected his phone to the aux cable and played music.

We hadn’t been listening to music on our way to Longitudes, so I knew that it was going to be a good while before we reached our destination. About a half hour later, we pulled up to a parking lot. As I glanced at the people walking past us, I recognized where we were.

“The _Renaissance_ Fair?” I said in an accusing tone.

“Yeah!” Liam replied with a grin. His face fell at the expression on my face. “Don’t tell me you don’t like Ren Fair?”

I grimaced as I remembered that it was his birthday. “No, it’s just…I haven’t gone to the Renaissance Fair since my early teens.”

“Then, you’ll enjoy the experience through new eyes!” Liam suggested as he got out of the car.

I took a deep breath before getting out of the car myself. I definitely didn’t expect something like this for a first date. In my personal opinion, the fair was meant for families with children and young teenagers, not two grown adults. But, I had already committed to it.

The two of us got in line for our tickets. I insisted on paying for my own admission once again. We then began to leisurely walk around to take in all the booths, shops, and events that would take place throughout the rest of the day. I was suddenly grateful for having already eaten, as it involved a lot of walking. Was this what Liam had planned from the beginning?

“Aren’t these the most curious little guys?” Liam pointed out as we came across a gryphon-themed shop. He was staring at wired gryphon figurines that could be posed in different ways. Some had different color feathers and eyes. “How much are they?” He asked the shopkeeper.

“Thirty-five for one. Fifty for two,” She stated. I saw Liam’s eyes light up when she held up decorative armor. “For a purchase of two, they also get this armor as a bonus.”

“Then, I’ll take two.” I spoke up as I paid the woman. I then turned to Liam. “Go on, choose one.”

The expression on Liam’s face was that of a child upon seeing gifts beneath a Christmas tree. “Are you serious right now?”

I found myself rolling my eyes. “Just pick one.” I insisted as I picked one, myself. The one I chose had gray feathers and blue eyes. To my surprise, Liam chose an identical one. We were handed the armor and occupied ourselves placing them on the gryphons before placing them in a bag. “Consider it your birthday gift.”

Seeing the different expressions on Liam’s face was worth it. The slightly taller man couldn’t seem to decide between surprise and sentiment.

“Thank you. How did you know that today was my birthday?” He wondered aloud.

“Staff contacts list update yesterday.” I explained, feeling all too pleased with myself. But, the amused smile on my face morphed into a frown when I saw someone familiar approaching. “Oh, no.” I groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Liam began to ask, but another voice called out my name at the same time.

_“Seth Slater!”_

The man was two inches taller than Liam, but part of the height surely came from the heeled boots he wore. He was in a gallant green archer’s costume that made his green eyes appear brighter. The fact that he was in costume meant that he was probably a guest actor at one of the events. His brown hair reached down to his shoulders and he had it pulled back in a low ponytail.

His mocha skin was as flawless as the last time I laid my eyes on it. The words ‘handsome devil’ took on a more literal meaning in my mind. He may be handsome, but he was still a devil.

“Liam, Kris Locklear. Kris, Liam Lux.” I grudgingly introduced as they shook hands.

“Nice to meet you,” Liam said, but he was promptly ignored by Kris as the green-eyed man stood in front of him to talk to me.

“You gonna see the Robin Hood show at 5? I’ll be in it.” Kris prompted.

“Whatever _Liam_ decides.” I responded curtly. “He’s my date and my ride.”

“My apologies,” He grumbled in an insincere tone of voice. He turned to give a sharp nod of good bye to Liam. “Liam.”

What he did next caused me to take a sharp intake of breath, as I didn’t expect it. Kris curled one of his large hands around waist as he leaned down to press a kiss to my cheek. I could smell his cologne and the scent ushered forth memories that I had spent two years burying.  

The expression on Liam’s face was one that I hadn’t seen before. It was a mixture of anger, shock, and jealousy.

“Please, try to come.” Kris purred in parting as he walked away in long strides.

I took a deep breath as pain began to constrict my heart. _“Son of a bitch,”_ I hissed as my body lost equilibrium. I held my upper right arm with my left hand and leaned against the lower edge of the shop as I took deep breaths and tried to hold the tears at bay.

To my surprise, Liam stepped right up and wrapped me in a hug. “Want me to take you home?” He suggested in a soft tone of voice.

I didn’t. Going home meant admitting defeat. Not to mention that we already paid the entrance fee and had only been there for an hour or two at best. And, it was Liam’s birthday! Liam had probably had this planned for some time…

“Let’s go someplace else.” I found myself pleading. “Not home, but not here.”

“Come on,” Liam urged as he wrapped an arm over my shoulder and led me back towards the entrance of the fair. “If I remember correctly, there’s a movie theater a few blocks away.”

 

 

 


	6. Birthday Gifts

I spaced out during the drive to the movie theater. I remember handing Liam money for my ticket, but the entire time I was struggling to stop the downward spiral of bad memories. My body gave a sudden jump when Liam’s hand threaded into my own. Still a bit startled, I glanced at our joined hands and directed my attention to the other man. Though the theater was dark, I could see his hesitant smile. He lifted our hands, pressing a soft kiss to the back of mine, and my heart skipped a beat.

I fought down a blush and began to focus on the movie trailers and the movie itself. The movie was about an unlikely pair of friends that ended up joining forces to help solve a CIA case. We both rather enjoyed it, and I found myself laughing more than a few times. For dinner, I managed to convince him to grab some fast food. We ate our fill and continued to talk about the movie and the anticipation of a sequel on the way back. Liam didn’t mention Kris once, for which I was grateful.

It was just past 8PM when we got back. As we reached the driveway of my house, I felt the need to give him an explanation. “Listen, Liam…” I began nervously. “Kris, he really did a number on me several years ago. We were on and off for three years before I was transferred into our current company.” I bit my lower lip and frowned. “I didn’t expect to see him. He’s always given me trouble…I should have…”

My breathing became shallow and shaky. My siblings told me time and time again to get a restraining order. But, since Kris finally left town, I didn’t see the need to go that far. Would he start showing up again after having seen Liam?

I must have looked like I was getting ready to hyperventilate, because Liam reached over to gently squeeze my shoulder.

“Hey, it’s ok.” He said as he shifted his head enough to look into my eyes. “You don’t want to get back together with him, do you?”

I immediately shook my head a few times. “No, absolutely not! I’d rather start dating women again before having him anywhere near me!” I cried out without thinking.

An amused smile tugged on the corner of Liam’s lips. “Are you going back on the remaining four dates with me?” He asked.

“No. Are _you_?” I countered, feeling a touch of annoyance at the very thought. Was he trying to back out after he went through so much effort just because of Kris?

A downright cheerful grin formed on Liam’s face. “The birthday gifts just keep coming.” He mused out loud.

His words reminded me of the bag with the gryphons. “Oh, that’s right!” I stated as I took out my gryphon with his armor out of the bag. “I’m leaving yours in the bag. Happy birthday!”

The look Liam gave me caused a slight shiver to roll down my spine. Before the butterflies in my stomach began to flutter out of control, I figured it was time to get back inside. “Well, in spite what I might have thought before today wasn’t too bad. I’m gonna go now.” I rambled rapidly as I got out of the car.

Liam actually stepped out of his car to follow me. I took a deep breath when I faced the front of my door. I then turned around. “And though they were unnecessary, thanks for the flowers, I guess.” I drawled in the most neutral voice I could muster.

Before I could reach into my pocket for the keys, Liam caught up with me and took hold of my chin, guiding my face back up to his. He just stood there quietly. Too quiet. It was rare for him to be so quiet.

“Can I make one last birthday request, Seth?” He pleaded.

The butterflies in my stomach were having a damn field day. “What _kind_ of request?” I countered.

“A kiss.” Liam replied.

I frowned. The very word ‘kiss’ caused a flicker of memory to flash in front of my eyes of Kris’s dirty tactics earlier that day. But, before I became lost once again in bad memories, Liam spoke again.

“A kiss from _you_.” He elaborated. “On the lips. But, again, it’s just a request. You don’t have to if you’d rather not!”

Liam had clearly lost his mind. Still, it was quite the surprise. Thus far, the auburn-haired man had been the driving force of whatever it was between us. Yet, the nervous Liam before me all but shifting his weight from one foot to the other caused a small smirk to form on my face. I would surely regret it later, but it was his birthday, damn it.

He instinctively lowered himself down a bit as I tilted my head slightly and went for his lips. I made quite the mistake in thinking that it would be a simple peck. Liam’s lips were soft and full. They felt so good. A flick of my tongue was all it took for him to open up. The next thing I knew, my tongue was sliding against his. From his delayed movements, it was clear that Liam was reeling in shock.

I felt a surge of energy and lust shooting through my body. I didn’t know when my hands began to cling to Liam’s head, holding it in place. I didn’t even know when I began biting and sucking on his lower lip. All that I knew was that I had to stop. I forced myself to step back and quickly unlocked my door to duck inside.

“Goodnight, Liam.” I said as I glanced at his dumbfounded form. He was still frozen in place even as I shut the door.  I couldn’t help but snicker. I turned my gaze to my security monitor and instantly regretted it.

Liam appeared to be laughing and gave a slight leap of joy as he all but ran towards his car.

Crap. What was I doing? Was I leading him on? Was it wise to continue to date him when I still reacted to Kris in such a strong manner? I was over that manipulative turd, wasn’t I?

I don’t think I would have felt the way I did when I kissed Liam if I wasn’t.

I placed my gryphon next to the vase full of orange roses. I leaned in to take in their scent and ignored the little jolt my heart gave.

_“_ _I heard they symbolized enthusiasm, desire and excitement...it’s what I’ve been feeling since you agreed to go out with me.”_

I let out a defeated sigh. If I were truly honest with myself, I’d say that I felt a touch of desire and excitement at the idea of dating Liam, as well. But, I sure as hell was _not_ enthusiastic about it in the slightest.

Despite not having spent a lot of time at the Renaissance Fair, I felt rather drained. I showered and brushed my teeth quite slowly. By the time I got to bed, Liam had already sent me five text messages.

**_Shameless   8:53PM_ **

_< I didn’t get the chance to say thank you._

_< …for both the gryphon and the kiss, that is._

_< You’re a very good kisser. _

_< Would you let it get to your head if I said it was the best kiss I was ever given?_

_< I seriously think it was._

I laughed. I laughed so hard that I felt tears at the corners of my eyes. Liam kept stealing every last bit of energy I had, and we weren’t even rolling around in the sheets! It took me a while to calm down enough to finally send him a response.

My theory is that you’ve simply not been dating decent kissers in the past if mine was so much better than theirs. >

When I didn’t receive a response, I figured that he was either in the shower himself or he’d already went to sleep. I set the phone aside and tried to get some rest, as well.

:::

_“Your kisses are delicious, as are you, Seth.”_

_“You’re not so bad yourself, Kris.” I teased. I was confident in my own abilities, as well as the ability to keep such a gorgeous man by my side._

_“Such an arrogant mouth…I love it. I’d love it even more around a certain part of my body.”_

_“Oh? What would you give in return?” I countered cheekily._

_“I can think of many ways to repay the favor.” Kris practically purred as he tugged me into another kiss._

_\--_

_The scene shifted into a more violent kiss. Instead of the bed, Kris had me painfully pinned against a tree. I tried to shove against him, but he merely slammed me hard against it again. With a slight wince of pain, I allowed him, knowing it wouldn’t be for much longer._

_\--_

_I was coming home after the weekend of a work retreat. In my hand, I held a box with a figurine of Humphrey Bogart as he was dressed in Casablanca with his hat and trench coat. He was one of Kris’s actor idols._

_I had been so excited to find it, certain that it would help cheer up the green-eyed man. “Kris?” I called as I opened the front door. I heard the distant sound of the shower running and a slight thump. I snickered, figuring that he went and dropped the bar of soap again. I walked into our shared room, surprised to see clothes I hadn’t seen him wear before trailing the ground._

_The door to the bathroom was open and as I got closer, I heard the sound of another man’s voice. The box fell from my hands at the sight of Kris fucking another man in **my** house. _

_\--_

_I was then seated at a fancy restaurant. The man that I was with was elegant and blonde. He seemed to genuinely like me and I was willing to try, ever eager to forget about Kris. But, then Kris walked into the restaurant in the pinstripe suit that looked the best on him. His hair was down. I felt my heart tightening in my chest._

_“Go find some other dog to date. Seth belongs to **me**.” Kris stated coldly before hauling me up by the elbow and dragging me out of the restaurant. _

_\--_

_The bruises on my back looked worse than they felt. But the welts on my thighs ached. As I washed my face, I was relieved that Kris always avoided bruising it, as well._

_“You’re all bones.” Kris grunted behind me as he slapped my backside. “Get your shit together and eat properly. Your ass is all you have going for you and you don’t want to lose it. ”_

_\--_

_“Just how many times are you going to **cheat** on me?” I accused in frustration._

_“You keep letting yourself go and you’re always at work! I can’t wait for you forever.” Kris countered. “If you were the same Seth I first met, my eyes wouldn’t stray to anyone else in the **first** place!”_

_I stumbled back at that. Was I truly not myself anymore? I doubted myself more and more, after all…_

_\--_

_I didn’t know the name of the man I was dancing with, but our bodies seemed to align well together as we moved to the rhythm of the song. He seemed to be having as much fun as I was._

_My footing faltered when I caught sight of Kris. How the hell had he found me? He had on the tight jeans that looked the best on him, the loose black shirt with the V-neck low enough to show off his chest, and had his hair half up._

_Not again. I couldn’t do this again. I left the dance floor, but he caught me as I was about to leave. The kiss he gave me felt desperate and left me in a bit of a daze. The two of us ended up dancing for a couple of songs. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he kept luring me back to his side because he really loved me in his own way._

_I went to the bar to order us a couple of drinks. But, when I glanced out at the floor, I couldn’t find him. Figuring that he went to the restroom, I walked down the hallway. He had a younger man bent over in front of him as they rutted in the dark corner at the end of the hallway._

_When he came home in the early morning, I already had several boxes of his things near the door. He began throwing objects around the house and even managed to close his hand around my throat, squeezing tightly. My younger brother arrived just then. He ripped Kris away from me, but I stopped Michael before he outright assaulted him. Mike even helped load Kris’s boxes into the taller man’s car._

_“You couldn’t live without me if you tried!” Kris called out. “I’ll be back before long.”_

_“I wouldn’t count on it!” Michael growled back._

:::

The nightmares startled me awake. The sun was barely rising, so I knew that it had to be early. So much for sleeping in on Saturdays. I let out a groan and rubbed my face with a hand. I grabbed my phone to see what time it was and noted that Liam sent me a few more texts.

**_Shameless   6:13AM_ **

_< Right. You’re probably not even awake yet. But, I was wondering…_

_< Is it ok if we hung out together for a bit today? _

_< Just hanging out wouldn’t count as one of my five dates, right?_

It’s far too early in the morning for you to be so hopeful.>

_< Damn. Did I wake you? I’m sorry._

No, nightmares woke me up. You were surprisingly absent in them.>

_< Does that mean that if I were in them, they’d have been dreams instead? I count as a dream!?  :)_

…I’m not going to bother with a response to that.>

_< I clearly do, then! I’m sorry you didn’t have good dreams last night. You featured in all of **mine** , after all._

(I blushed.)

Just how the hell is that supposed to make me feel _better_?  >

_< …so, should I bring some board games? When can I come over?_

(I took a deep breath.)

I’ll make us some lunch and snacks. Don’t you _dare_ come over before 12:30PM.>

_< I’ll see you in a few hours then!  :D_

I belatedly recalled that I didn’t have any casual clothes other than my gym clothes. Since it was my own home, I decided to wear another pair of Michael’s shorts. They were printed with camouflage. I then figured that one of my sleeveless gym shirts would do. I chose a black one.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw the tiniest hint of the old me behind my blue-grey eyes.


	7. Truth, Not Dare

I spent the majority of the morning ensuring that my house was as impeccably clean as possible. When half-past noon approached, my gaze shifted towards the vase of orange flowers. The buds of the roses had opened wider than the previous day, resulting in quite the impressive bouquet. As much as I told myself that it would be a bad idea, I still took a picture of the flowers and gryphon. I thought I had learned my lesson about taking pictures attached to certain memories. Yet, there I was breaking that silent promise.

As I pressed the thumbnail on the phone and glanced at the photo, my thoughts drifted to the time I went to my phone provider to change my number and start from scratch. They asked me if I wanted to save any of the data and pictures, but I told them to go ahead and wipe the chip. Too many memories were latched on to those pictures, both good and bad.

The doorbell dissipated such glum thoughts. A part of me was relieved to see Liam’s face on the monitor, as opposed to anyone else. I opened the door to let him in and was pleased to note that, once again, Liam’s clothes were similar to mine. He wore jean shorts this time, along with a pale green tank. He held two cloth bags in either hand.

“‘Afternoon,” He greeted with a childlike grin. “Where can I place these?”

Apparently, he hadn’t been joking when he said he’d bring board games. “Just set them on the dining room table.” I suggested as I closed and locked the door behind him.

I had already set out a variety of snacks for the both of us. One was a tray with a variety of small vegetables and fruits like baby carrots, grape tomatoes, and orange slices. Another tray had a variety of chips including blue chips, baked potato chips, and even kale chips. Lastly, there was a bowl with a variety of diced cheeses.

For lunch, I made a white clam flatbread with herbs. I cooked and crumbled bacon on Liam’s half and simply added more mushrooms to mine. I used a pizza cutter to slice the flatbread into smaller pieces and loaded the servings onto our plates.

“That smells good,” Liam mused as he walked up to me.

After grabbing each of us a bottle of water, I handed him his plate and the two of us sat across each other at the dining room table on the opposite end of the board games.

“Bon appétit,” I stated as I took a bite of one of my flatbread pieces. As I chewed, I wondered if Liam’s half was as flavorful as mine.

“Is bacon on the whole thing?” Liam asked incredulously.

“Just on your half,” I clarified with an amused smile. “You’re really quite the stalker to take such note of my eating habits.”

“It’s just, you’re always so adamant about any meat that isn’t seafood…remember when you swapped the last BLT for my Tuna sandwich after one of the staff meetings?” He pointed out.

“Oh. _Not_ a stalker then, you just have a very good memory. I had forgotten all about that,” I admitted, blushing slightly.

“Well, thanks for the effort of tossing bacon on mine.” Liam continued. “You needn’t have, I’d have been fine with the clams alone. And I’m no enemy of mushrooms.”

“Good to know.” I responded. For the next few minutes, we focused more on eating and drinking water. Once again, the silence was quite peaceful. We seemed to be rather used to eating lunch together.

“That was really good,” Liam declared as he gently rubbed his stomach. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” I responded with a genuine smile, pleased that he didn’t dislike the food I made.

After I cleared up the table and set our dishes in the dishwasher, I turned around to see that Liam had already set up a Jenga tower on the table. I let out a snort, but my competitiveness was sparked up half-way into the game when neither of us caused the tower to fall just yet.

The two of us barely breathed in nervousness when we had to place another block on top of the teetering tower. At first, we ribbed each other on our block choices. But, the tension ran high the higher that the dangerously skeletal tower became. It was down to mere chance at that point.

“Whoever wins this round gets to ask the other person a personal question that they have to answer,” Liam suggested after he placed his block on top and the tower gave a small sway.

“You’re saying this _now_ when it’s so close to falling?” I complained as I carefully tapped the blocks with the tip of my finger, searching for a loose one without forcing the tower over. I let out a sigh of relief when I found one and carefully placed it on top. I held my breath as the tower gently swayed. “Your turn.”

“It’s just that, it’s such a close game. It’s anyone’s loss.” Liam explained. “What do you say?” He asked as he felt for a loose block himself.

I let out a sigh. “Fine.” I stated as I steeled myself for whatever question Liam had in mind. To my surprise, the tower fell just as Liam gave his block a final tug. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ok, a deal’s a deal.” Liam spoke up. “Ask me anything.”

A small smirk formed on my face as I placed my right elbow on the table and dropped my chin onto my cupped hand. “What kind of underwear do you have on?” I teased.

It was a pleasure to see Liam blushing slightly, for once. “They’re, uh, silver satin boxers.” He confessed sheepishly.

“Satin? Sounds soft.” I practically purred, relishing the reversal while I could. Laughter nearly escaped me when I saw his Adam’s apple rise and fall after a hard gulp. But, I figured I should spare him any further embarrassment. “I think it’s time to play one of _my_ favorites now.”

“Which one?” The auburn-haired man asked.

I reached over to pick up a small box of cards labeled Uno and showed it to him.

“You’re on!” He challenged.

We continued to play games for three hours, asking personal questions whenever the game came to an end and there was a solid victor. No questions were asked whenever the game ended in a tie. I ended up telling Liam that I was wearing boxers with emoticons on them, that my favorite candy was dark chocolate, that I was ticklish on the back of my thighs, and that my first kiss was with a high school basketball player. Liam told me in turn that his first time masturbating was when he was twelve, that he never dated a girl, that he bottomed on occasion, and that the carpet did indeed match the drapes.

Somewhere down the line, we had eaten half of the snacks, as well. When we both felt we played enough games, I invited Liam over to the living room to watch a movie. I had a rather large collection of many genres. He held up a random Bollywood movie titled Ram-Leela. When I explained that it was an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, he decided on watching it.

The running time was about two and a half hours, which wasn’t bad in comparison to a favorite Bollywood movie of mine that had a running time of nearly four hours. During the lulls and some of the longer dance numbers, Liam took hold of my hand. Sometimes, he’d just thread our fingers together. Other times, he would trace my palm. What caused me to feel restless the most was when he rubbed alongside the top of my fingers with his own and ran his thumb against the back of my hand. I found myself squirming in place beside him during one of those moments and he turned to look at me.  

“Sorry, do you want me to stop?” He asked quietly.

“No,” I responded honestly. “I…kind of like it, actually.”

I caught the mischievous glint in his eyes just before he lifted the back of my hands to his lips. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

 _“Damn it,”_ I hissed under my breath. As I clambered over him and straddled him, I vaguely heard the chorus of the song Lahu Munh Lag Gaya playing.

Liam had the sense to quickly find the pause button on the remote and pressed it before my lips captured his in a kiss.

I once again marveled at the fullness of his lips. He didn’t open them for me this time, so I gave him a few more closed-mouthed kisses before flicking his upper lip with the tip of my tongue. A part of me wondered why he wouldn’t allow me more, but then I felt the hardness beneath me and blushed.

“I’ve barely done anything that warrants _this_ kind of a reaction.” I whispered as I scooted back.

Liam let out a strangled noise before taking a deep breath. “Seth,” He replied in a husky voice. “You’re seated on my lap. Believe me, it’s plenty.”

“Yeah?” I responded as I tried not to press my own hardness against him. “Well, most of mine is from your blasted hand stroking.” I frowned slightly. “Has it just been that long for the both of us? I mean, damn.”

The man beneath me burst out laughing. The laughter was contagious and, shortly after, both our bodies managed to settle down a bit.  

Then, Liam lifted his hand to the side of my face. I looked down at him in a questioning manner. But, he took hold of the back of my head and tugged me into another kiss.

He was met with no resistance as his tongue made its way into my mouth. Desire began to flood my body with every stroke of his tongue against mine. This time, I was quite relieved to feel him hardening against me. It was proof that the kiss affected him just as badly as it was affecting me. When I felt his hands slide beneath my shirt and settle just between my waist and my hips, I pulled away. The pupils in his eyes were as wide as mine surely were. He rubbed his thumbs in circles against my skin and I swore I felt as if the damn digits were stroking something else entirely.

“Are you ok?” He asked softly.

I squirmed a bit, but nodded. Other than obvious parts of my body, I was perfectly fine.

“Do you want to stop?”

“No.” I responded, feeling rather surprised about my own answer.

“Then, can I have one more kiss?” Liam pleaded.

I couldn’t deny him. Not, when he practically begged like that. I smiled and leaned down to kiss him again. It was a soft and tender kiss that built and built until we were all but devouring each other. My fingers dug into Liam’s scalp as his hands slid up and down my back. I felt as if fire was coursing through my very veins.

When we finally pulled away again, it was only due to weakened jaws and aching lips.

“Fuck,” I hissed, feeling disoriented. “What were we doing before this?”

The wide grin on Liam’s face was preferable to him laughing at me. But, my train of thought was interrupted by the ring tone of my cell phone. The tune was of the card march song in Alice and Wonderland, which meant that it was an unknown number.

With a sigh, I clambered off of Liam and reached for the phone on the side table. I was a bit out of breath by the time I answered it. “Hello?”

The voice on the other end made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Seth, I want to see you.”

“I don’t want to see _you,_ ” I growled in response. “How the hell did you get my number?”

Liam immediately reacted to the aggression in my tone of voice, a frown forming on his face as he scooted closer and strained to listen.

“Beth is still a mutual friend of ours,” Kris answered. “If you didn’t want her to give it to me, you would have surely told her not to…which means that you _do_ want to see me, at least on a subconscious level.”

“That couldn’t be further from the truth. Go fuck yourself, Kris.” I responded coldly as I hung up the phone and then shut it down. I felt tense all over. The warmth and heat that I felt before with Liam was gone, leaving me all but shivering in cold.

“You can block his personal number…” Liam suggested after a moment of silence.

I shook my head. “He’ll just call from other phones incessantly.”

“There is a way you can set the phone to block any unknown incoming calls.” He added.

“But, then it would also block any return calls from doctor appointments. I’ve gone through all of this already.” I sighed dejectedly.

He wrapped his arms around me and I found myself wrapping my own arms around his midsection. I closed my eyes and soaked up his warmth for a moment.

“I changed my phone,” I confessed. “I changed the locks, and added the security system on the house….” I drew in a shuddering breath. “Just when I had thought he was gone for good.”

“Come sleep over at my apartment today and tomorrow.” Liam suddenly suggested. “Just for this weekend. I promise it’s not for anything nefarious.”

As much as I wanted to doubt him, I didn’t. If it were under any other circumstance, I’d say he was trying to get laid. But, Liam truly didn’t seem like the type to use such a twisted situation just to bed someone.

“…alright,” I conceded. As strange as it was to admit, I felt safer around Liam. And if I wasn’t going to get any sleep tomorrow, I might as well not be alone.

My response must have shocked Liam to silence because he didn’t respond for a while.

“Liam?”

The man shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “A-also, didn’t you say that your younger brother studied at a nearby university? What if he stays with you for the time being?”

Liam was clearly worried about me. The thought caused strange feelings to bubble up inside me. “I hadn’t thought about asking Michael to stay over for a while.” I replied. “I think I will.”

The relief on Liam’s face was priceless.

I couldn’t help but press a kiss to his cheek in gratitude.

“Thank you, Liam.”

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Flushing Toilets

“ _Forget you,_ Liam.” I grumbled as the loading bar of our scores were displayed on the flat screen, Liam’s name carrying the crown.

The two of us had been playing a dancing game in his living room for about an hour. The auburn-haired man had defeated me by three crowns.

“Fine, I’ll admit it. You’re the dancing queen for now.” I teased.

“Give it some practice and next time _you’ll_ be the one defeating _me_.” Liam pointed out.

“So, what would you like to know?” We had continued our ‘truth, not dare’ questions when we arrived at Liam’s apartment.

“What are your thoughts on pets?” he asked.

“A bit allergic to dander, but otherwise I’ve no issues with them. My family had fish, birds, dogs, _and_ cats while I was growing up.”

The surprise on Liam’s face made me frown.

“What is it? I don’t look like a pet person to you?” I asked. “I admit that things there have been some big, busy changes in the last few years, but just because I don’t have a pet yet doesn’t mean I won’t adopt one eventually.”

“No, it’s just that pets are messy and you’re generally… _tidy_ ,” Liam responded.

“Liam,” I countered as I took a step closer to him and looked him in the eye. “Pets can be trained and washed.”

There was a moment of tense silence before Liam spoke once more. “You’re one of those people that would somehow get cats to pee and flush toilets, aren’t you?” he questioned.

I burst out laughing. “No, I’d just have them do their business outside. Seriously? Flushing toilets?”

The grin Liam sent my way made the laughter die in my throat. It was such a pleased grin, like he wanted nothing more than to have me laugh all day long. I almost felt bad for stopping so abruptly. “Hey,” I began as I tried not to stare at him too hard. “Thanks again for all of this.”

I couldn’t help but stare at him again, due to the warmth that bled into his honey-hued eyes.

“Thank you for putting your trust in me,” he replied.

I felt a tiny surge of boldness at the sight. “You know what? I know that I’ve lost the last several games, but do you mind if I still ask _you_ something personal?” I asked him.

“Not at all. Ask away.”

“When you first joined the company, I know I was a real grouch. It was busy season and even though you were part of a different team, the fact that we were similar in age somehow made me feel a bit threatened by your presence, career-wise…” I confessed. “And for that, I’m sorry-”

“No need to apologize,” Liam briefly interrupted. “You made up for it when we worked on the Clarity project together.”

“I did?” I wondered aloud, distracted by his statement.

“Yeah, you were amazing,” he explained. “You actually wore the sponsored shirt even though it was that wild, glowing lime green color. You were there even earlier than I was on most days and you were so supportive. Do you even remember how many times I asked you how my skits and speeches were?”

That project had been planned for months prior and it was an event that stretched on for days. We had been so busy that I couldn’t really remember, so I shook my head. “That week was a blur of busy.”

“Well, I asked you how I did after just about every time,” Liam said. “You said you were impressed with how I kept the entire auditorium engaged and that you were rather proud of me.”

The more Liam described it, the more I began to truly remember. Both our teams were so busy that week, but he was right. Though the auburn-haired man was no actor or professional speaker, he was still able to really project the company’s goals and ideals regarding the community with every passing day.

“I remember now, you were actually quite nervous,” I pointed out. “And you kept taking those energy drinks even though I told you it was a bad idea!”

Liam winced briefly. “Guilty as charged. And I did regret it the following week when we went back to our usual work.”

“I think both our entire teams were still exhausted the week after.”

“As the team leaders, we made an excellent team ourselves,” Liam stated with conviction. “Every time we were alone together, I kept wanting to kiss you.”

“You _did_ kiss me,” I countered. “The very first day while everyone was still setting up. I was sitting down going over the paperwork and you kissed the top of my head out of nowhere.” I relayed as I recalled. “I remember looking around to make sure no one saw, but I didn’t say anything. I figured the excitement and nervousness were getting to you. In fact, I thought you were even going around kissing _everyone_ on the head.”

The blush on Liam’s face was priceless.

“Yeah, about that…I was caught up in my own personal moment. I mean, I saw you wearing the crazy green shirt for the first time that week and working so hard that I knew you took our project seriously. And I just kept thinking about how you trusted me to handle my team and never questioned me,” Liam elaborated. “I felt then and there that we were a great team. I guess I just completely lost control of my feelings at that particular moment.”

“To be fair, I felt that we worked great together, too.” I responded. “And I may have been a _little_ drawn to your hard work and enthusiasm that week…it was the first time I saw how serious and dedicated you could be.”

“I just knew that the reason you seemed so tense around me was because you thought I was too energetic!” Liam deduced as he closed the distance between us and held my hips with his hands. “What else didn’t you like about me?”

“I was probably making most of it up in my head,” I replied as I curled my hands around the hem of his shirt. It was difficult for me to lift my head due to embarrassment, but I forced myself to peer up at him. I was relieved to see that he didn’t seem to care about my previous misconceptions of him. “I thought you just went around chatting up all the women in your team to get them to do all of your paperwork for you.”

“Ah, I was only begging them all to help me figure out which paperwork was needed for what.” Liam explained. “After I figured it out, I did it all on my own, I swear.”

“Yeah, I realize that now…” I admitted with an apologetic whisper. “Liam, just what do you see in me? I mean, I’m not a person that’s easy to get along with. I have OCD, I’m distrusting, sarcastic, not to mention selfish at times-”

“Everyone’s selfish at times, no one’s perfect,” he interceded. “You know the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’, right? Well, that’s what I think of you. Though you’d rather keep everyone at a distance, when it’s something important, you’re there giving your support. You’re like the kid that always complains and tells his parents that he _won’t_ do any of the chores or take out the trash…but, in the end, he actually does it. I prefer that to the kid that lies to the ‘rents faces saying that he _will_ do the chores, but doesn’t actually do it.”

“I didn’t complain to my parents about chores _that_ often. OCD, remember?” I replied, which drew forth a chuckle from the other man.

“I didn’t say that you did. What I mean is that that I prefer your honesty, even if it’s just pure griping, because your actions more than make up for them.” Liam insisted. “I don’t like liars, especially those that put on a perfect mask to deceive and manipulate others.”

His words brought Kris Locklear’s face to mind. I gave a shudder. “Well, I’m not all that honest, either.” I pointed out. “I’ve clearly been in denial for months when it comes to you.”

Liam shook his head. “No, you were clearly hurt badly. You were being wary and careful,” he countered before another smile tugged at his lips. “Besides, it was worth the wait.”

I didn’t return the sentiment. A part of me didn’t feel as if I were worth waiting for in the slightest. But, if there was something that I truly enjoyed, it was to see the smile on the auburn-haired man’s face. Just as I was about to take a step back, he leaned down to give me a kiss. My mind immediately went blank from the moment I felt his tongue taking over my mouth.

As desire began to rise within me, I felt emboldened. I traced my hands around the hem of his pants, lifting his shirt up in the back so that I could slide my hands inside to give the man’s butt cheeks a squeeze.

Liam immediately broke the kiss, but he didn’t the rest of his body away. “I’m starting to think inviting you to sleep over was a bad idea,” he commented aloud.

A salacious smirk formed on my face. I really liked the sound of that. “If you thought I was going to behave the entire time, you were seriously mistaken.” I cautioned. “So, if you don’t want me to molest you in the middle of the night, you might have to lock your door.”

For a moment, Liam merely looked at me through glazed eyes and gulped hard.

“Seth Slater,” he began. “I’ll be honest with you. Having you right here is the biggest damn temptation I’ve ever had to endure. But, I would prefer it if we didn’t go too far…at least not until after the remaining, official four dates.”

I raised an eyebrow, surprised and amused at the same time. I slowly slid my hands out of his pants and rested them on the small of his back. “I can respect that. But, if you plan to sleep in the nude as you said you usually do… _definitely_ lock your door.”

Liam burst out into laughter, this time dropping his forehead onto my shoulder as his whole body shook with mirth. “I can’t believe it…right now, it feels as if _I’m_ the one acting out the ‘Sensible’ part of our chat names.”

I found myself sliding my hands up his back and turning slightly to press a kiss to his cheek. “Well, you’re not wrong. Sleeping under the same roof as you apparently makes me feel a little ‘Shameless’ myself. But, like I said, if it’s what you want then I don’t mind holding back. Hell, I don’t even mind if you ask me to get tested first.”

“We can _both_ get tested, make sure to clear off any doubt.” Liam added. “But, only after your final answer on date five.”

“It’s a deal,” I replied.

We both heard the sound of my phone vibrating on Liam’s kitchen counter, where I had left it charging. I rushed over and only hesitated for a tiny moment before looking at the number displayed. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized it wasn’t a number, but a name. I quickly pressed the Answer button on the screen.

_“Big bro!”_

I couldn’t help but grin at the sound of his voice. “ _Little_ bro!” I responded.

_“I got your message. What’s going on?”_

“Well…” I trailed off as I thought of the best way to explain it to him. “I’m sort of seeing someone new. I’ll introduce you two later, I promise.”

_“For real? That’s friggin awesome!”_

“Thanks. But, this isn’t just about Liam,” I continued. “The two of us ran into Kris…and the next day, I find out that he somehow whittled my number off of Beth.”

_“ **What?** How could Beth **do** that?”_

“If there’s one thing I remember about Kris is that he was too conniving for his own good. He would have gotten my number one way or another.” I responded with a sigh.

_“He’s a dick. Nothing new. So, you’re gonna get another number, right?”_

“Yes I am, but Mike…do you think there’s any way you could live with me for the next couple of weeks? Just in case he shows up?” I pleaded. “I’m worried about the weekdays. My weekends should already be covered.”

_“Compromised weekends? That’s starting to sound serious.”_

“No, not quite yet.” I nearly pouted at the teasing tone that I heard in my brother’s voice. “So can you come over starting Monday?”

_“I’ll be there. Keep safe in the meantime, ok? And I don’t just mean with Kris, if you catch my drift.”_

“The same goes for you,” I responded.

_“Wait a minute, it’s the weekend **now**_ **.** _Are you with your new guy right now?”_

“Yes,” I told him reluctantly. “I’m at his apartment.”

_“Pass him the phone, I have a few words to tell him.”_

“But, you’re going to meet him in person soon enough,” I argued with a frown.

_“I’m not gonna scare him off, just hand him the phone and trust me, will ya?”_

With another sigh, I slowly held out the phone to Liam. “He wants to have a word with you.”

“Uh-oh,” Liam snickered as he held the phone up to his ear. “Is this the ‘sibling threat of life’ talk already?”

Though I heard the distant sound of my brother’s voice, I couldn’t quite make out what Michael told him.

“Duly noted.” Liam responded before handing the phone back to me.

“The curiosity is killing me and you know it.” I told my brother.

_“Yeah, yeah. It’s nothing that you haven’t already guessed. Just told him to protect you, is all.”_

“Are you done, then?”

_“Yep. Told ya I wouldn’t scare him off!”_

“See you Monday.”

_“Alright. Love you, bro.”_

“Love you, too.”

After I placed the phone down, I headed back towards Liam. Though the sound of my brother’s voice lightened my spirits a bit, I still felt bad about asking him to do so much for me.

“As the big brother, I should be the one taking care of _him._ ” I murmured dejectedly.

“He sounds like a smart and strong kid.” Liam commented. “And he seems to care about you a great deal. I think you’d have hurt him more if you _hadn’t_ asked him to stay with you for the time being.”

I could only hope that he was right.


	9. Mirror Mirror

“Hope you don’t mind stir-fry vegetables and brown rice for tonight,” Liam suggested. We both agreed to eat whatever was available in the apartment instead of going out anywhere or ordering delivery.

“That sounds great, actually.” I admitted. “Need my help with anything?”

“Just find us a couple of plates, if you could. Second overhead cabinet on the right.”

I found us a couple of plates and dug around for utensils. After I finished setting the table, I ended up feeling a bit daring. I waited until Liam finished turning the rice over with a large spoon and then I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, stood on the tips of my toes, and rested  my chin on his shoulder as I peered at his work.

“Not bad,” I mused. I felt him tense up for a brief second in surprise and then instantly relaxed.

Liam placed a hand over one of mine and gently stroked it with his thumb. “When I was a kid, I loved white rice so much that I ate it almost every single day,” he said as he reached over to make sure all of the burners were off. “I was quite the round little thing. It took quite the scolding from the family physician for my parents to choose healthier foods for us to eat, white rice in moderation.”

“Your family sounds kind, to have worked together like that.” I replied. “How did they react when you told them about not liking girls?”

“My uncle’s gay and my dad’s always been bi. So, I was lucky. Mom felt worried for me and the road ahead, but didn’t judge me. Dad merely shrugged and patted me on the shoulder as if it didn’t matter to him in the slightest.” Liam said as he scooped the rice onto a large bowl that he grabbed with a towel and placed on the table. “He told me ‘Man or Woman, just bring back someone home that you feel very serious about.’”

“Wow. Well, my mom had already suspected, since I never brought any girls home. My dad was just awkward with me for a while. It took him a good few months to realize that just because I preferred men didn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy watching and playing sports with him or any of the other things we usually did together.” I responded. “I think he thought I’d start wearing dresses and skirts or something. It’s quite funny when I think about it now. Granted, the one that gave him the most grief was Michael…but, I’ll let you see all of that for yourself.”

“It’s that bad?” he asked as he grabbed the pan of stir-fry and began to fill our plates.

“No, he just would do things on purpose to freak dad out. He’d dress like a woman for Halloween, quite convincingly, too. Antoine and I had to make sure he wasn’t getting hit on if we went to a party. Would have been a nasty surprise for any straight guy.”  I explained. “He also wears pale pinks and lilacs whenever he feels like it, paints his nails sometimes, and wears eyeliner on the rare occasion.”

“Does he prefer men?” Liam asked with an uncertain tone of voice.

“Oh, he’s bi. Had a hard time of it, too.” I confessed. “One of his close female friends outed him to the rest of the group and no one wanted to date him after that.”

“That’s terrible. What kind of a friend would do that?” he huffed before taking a few bites of food.

“Probably one that was lost and confused herself.” I figured. “High school is a rough and confusing environment for that age group.”

“How’s he doing now?” he questioned after taking a sip of water.

“He’s pretty serious about his college courses, but he hasn’t really told me if he’s been dating anyone recently.” I realized as I spoke aloud. When I finally took a bite from my own plate, I was quite impressed. “This is really good! Thank you.”

Liam grinned. “Don’t mention it, glad it’s to your liking,” he replied.

The rest of the dinner was spent in warm silence as we finished eating. His apartment had only one bathroom, so he gave me the first turn. The bathroom was relatively clean, so my OCD was quelled. He told me I could watch anything I wanted in the living room. I decided on Family Feud while I waited for Liam to take his turn.

He joined me briefly for the end of the show and then the two of us decided to retire for the night. The auburn-haired man must have been more self-conscious than I previously thought, because he wore boxers to bed and really did lock his door. I didn’t know if it was to keep me out or to keep himself in. I wasn’t even able to steal a goodnight kiss. Perhaps it was for the best. I really did want to respect his wishes, after all.

The guest room was right next to Liam’s room. It was unused, but tidy. I didn’t see a layer of dirt anywhere, though I imagined that the closet had probably accumulated some. As I tucked in, I realized just how soft and comfortable the bed and pillow was on the queen sized bed. I was asleep a moment or two after that.

I was then plunged into a nightmare.

_I flinched at the sound of a whip cracking. As I looked on, I saw the sharp break in the skin and heard a muffled scream. Line after line of blood dripped down the person’s back. I wondered if that was me. Was I having an out of body experience?_

_More sharp cracks, more cuts. I was finally able to turn my head to see Kris Locklear holding the handle of the whip. Hi green eyes looked right at me as a cruel smirk formed on his face. I frowned and rushed around to see the person that he had immobilized. It was Liam._

_I let out a scream that was part anger and part fear as I rushed forward and tried to tug the whip handle out of Kris’s grip._

My eyes flew open and I gasped for air. Warm honey eyes filled my vision. The lamp light was on. Liam? What was he doing in my room? Wait, I’m in _his_ apartment.

“Are you ok?” Liam asked softly.

I didn’t say anything. I just clambered around him and frantically pressed my hands along his smooth, unmarred back. I let out a shuddering sigh of relief. “You’re ok. Thank goodness you’re ok.” I whispered.

I then clambered back around to face him and hugged him tightly as I waited for my heartbeat to calm back down. Liam began to run a hand up and down my own back in solace. I took in his scent and felt relieved.

Minutes passed and we remained that way. Liam finally began to move, but I stopped him. “Don’t go.” I pleaded. A part of me was desperate to keep him near, to keep him safe.

Liam leaned down to press a kiss to my temple. “I’m just going to the bathroom. If you want, I’ll stay right here for the rest of the night.”

I reluctantly let him go. Once he was out of the room, I tugged at my dark hair. As loathe as I was to admit it, something good came out of that nightmare. Proof. Proof that I no longer saw Kris through rose-colored glasses. Even my subconscious wanted Liam to be safe and well.

And that meant that I truly _did_ care about Liam.

When Liam returned, I scooted over to give him room. He held the blanket open for me and I couldn’t help the bittersweet smile that formed on my face as I snuggled in close to him. “I’m sorry about all this- ” I began, only to be cut off.

“Don’t fret about it,” he insisted. “I’d rather you get some rest for the remainder of the night.”

For some reason, his warmth made me feel quite drowsy. I already felt myself drifting into sleep. “Thank you.” I whispered as my mind went blank.

In spite of having interrupted our sleep, I woke up feeling quite refreshed. The curtain in Liam’s guest room was a deep blue hue, so only a little bit of sunlight seeped out, but a large rectangle shined on the ceiling. I carefully shifted and noticed that Liam was still there, completely passed out and snoring softly.

At night, I normally slept on one side of my body and then the other, but Liam hadn’t moved at all. He was still in the same exact position.

My eyes took in the sight greedily. I could stare at him all I wanted while he slept. I noticed that his hair had sparse strands of gold in it. His eyebrows were just a slight shade darker than his auburn hair, but it was definitely a hue that I wasn’t used to seeing. His stubble seemed to be of the same hue, as well. He didn’t have a lot hair on his chest, but it was, once again, the same color. As I gently tugged down the blanket, my thoughts strayed to when he once told me that the carpet matched the drapes.

I was curious as all hell.

Ever so carefully, I tugged at the elastic top of the boxers and lowered it just enough to see some of the curly auburn strands that led down to the morning erection just beneath. I frowned as my mind went spiraling into the gutter. Crap. What were Liam’s exact words? Don’t go too far and safety.

He said nothing about getting him started, though. So, I found myself tugging the boxers carefully down and over the other man’s flesh. I couldn’t remember the last time I held another man’s member. Liam’s felt quite nice. As I stroked it and ran my thumb along it, I peered at his face. He was circumcised, just as I was, not that it mattered to me. But, I couldn’t risk looking down to affirm what my hand felt.

I wasn’t disappointed. He began to squirm and breathe heavier. His face was set in a frown as he opened his eyes. I lifted my free hand to press a finger to his lips. “I remember what you said, I don’t intend for us to anything more than this right now.” I explained. “Either let me finish you off or take over and let me see you finish yourself off.”

Liam let out a groan as he rubbed his face with a hand. “Fuck, Seth. Are you trying to kill me?” He keened. But, in the end, he reached down to grab his own shaft as he quickly worked himself to completion.

I slid my hands up his inner thighs as I watched him. His eyes tracked my every movement, so I sent him a devious smirk as one of my hands took hold of his lower sac and gently squeezed and lifted. With a shuddering gasp of air, he lifted his hips twice. _Shit._

I couldn’t take just watching anymore, so I slid my hand right down into my pajama bottoms and began to stroke myself, as well. The gasps and moans that fell from Liam’s mouth were echoed by my own. “So hot, Liam,” I whispered headily.

His face was flushed down to his neck and part of his chest.  I lifted myself onto my knees beside him and pulled off my white tank. I lowered my pajama bottoms enough to free my shaft and then leaned back as I tried to match the pace of his strokes and copied his movements. When his hand reached all the way down and back, my hand did the same. When he squeezed himself tight, I did the same. When he slowed down, I slowed down. When he sped back up, I sped back up.

Liam started to realize what I was doing, and began to stroke himself in the ways that he wanted to see me stroke myself. He abandoned his shaft to slide his hands up his abdomen and chest, scratching the tips of his nipples with his fingernails. I copied his movements and arched my back as my hands slid back down, my thumbs dragging along my nipples on their way down.

_“Liam,”_ I gasped and his hand immediately grasped back onto his flesh.

“Do that again,” He requested. “Slowly… _fuck._ ”

I slid my hands up my throat and sucked on two of my fingers. My grey eyes were still looking right at him.

Liam came first. As he tried to catch his breath, I reached down to finish myself off, which only took a few more seconds. _“Hah!”_ I cried out. I couldn’t remember the last time I came so hard. Watching Liam and having him watching me in turn was far more pleasurable than I would have imagined.

When we began to come down from the high, my OCD began to nag at me. I pouted. “Sorry about your sheets. I can wash them if you show me where your washer and drier are.”

Liam merely laughed.

 

 


	10. Boyfriend

At first, I was quite amused to see Liam completely off his game in the hours after our fun little morning. The auburn-haired man would lose track of what he was doing, shoot a glance my way, pace a bit, and then went back to what he was doing. Whenever we touched, like when our hands reached for the same fork or when our shoulders brushed as we walked past each other in the hallway, he would tense and walk away in such a stiff manner that it made me think of a tin soldier marching off.

But, by the time we were ready to eat lunch, I just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Liam, is it going to be like this for the rest of the day?” I questioned as I let out a sharp breath of air through my nose. “Because I was kind of hoping we’d actually sit next to each other and watch some more movies tonight.”

My words caught his attention enough that he finally looked me in the eye for the first time since earlier that morning. I could almost sense his thoughts racing as I held his gaze. He was the first to look away.

“I’m just a little scared, Seth,” he confessed. “I’ve been trying to get you to go out with me for the last two years. But, in the last few days, we’ve progressed further than I had planned.”

I stared at him. “You’re not going to start singing ‘Like a Virgin’ now, are you?” I teased.

He grumbled something into his bottle of water as he took a sip and I frowned.

“What was that?”

“I said more like ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’,” he clarified.

“Liam, if I had wanted a one night stand, I wouldn’t have agreed to date you.” Seth pointed out. “In fact, I would have probably been the one to ask _you_ out and then pretended that our night of drunken revelry never happened the following day at work.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Why didn’t I what?” I countered as he took a step forward.

“Why didn’t you ever invite me to that one night stand?” he asked.

“There was a moment I thought of it, during the first two weeks you started working at the company,” I confessed. “My thoughts ran along the lines of ‘he’s annoyingly energetic, but charming…surely if I proposed a night out, he’d take it and then move on to someone else afterwards’.”

“You think I’m charming?” Liam prompted with a goofy smile on his face.

I shook my head as I wondered if he had selective hearing. Since teasing him was starting to become one of my favorite pastimes, I decided to pop his little bubble of joy. “I did at first…now, I just realize you’re barely more than a hyper child.”

I managed to keep a straight face as I said it and was rewarded with Liam’s sullen expression.

“I’ve always been energetic since I was a kid,” he admitted. “I don’t think it’s something I can control all the time…”

I shook my head once again and snickered, playfully shoving at his shoulder. “I’m just messing with you. Your energy level’s actually starting to grow on me and, no, you’ve never stopped being charming. I’ve just been very, very paranoid for far too long a time,” I explained. “And though I can’t fully explain it, I really trust you. So, I hope that you can start trusting me back.”

A smile was back on Liam’s face. “Does this mean I can trust you not to touch me in my sleep again?”

“This morning, my curiosity got the best of me,” I responded, feeling a slight surge of lust as I recalled the morning’s events. “But, even so, I’m not making any promises.”

A slight blush formed on the man’s face. “Are you saying this might be a recurring thing?”

“I’m saying that I’ve been lacking more and more control around you, so it’s definitely a possibility.” I concluded. “And I refuse to take responsibility for how I act around my own boyfriend.”

Silence followed that statement. For a moment, I wondered if I said something wrong. But, Liam suddenly rushed towards me and gave me such a thorough kiss that it caused a shiver to roll down my spine. I did my best to kiss him back, but I still felt a bit lightheaded when he pulled away. When he took in the confused look on my face, he grinned.

“You just referred to me as your boyfriend. I can’t begin to tell you how happy that makes me,” he explained.

If I had known that calling him my boyfriend was all it took for him to stop worrying that I only wanted casual sex from him, I’d have mentioned it sooner. When it comes to sensuality, I can barely control myself, especially if it’s someone I enjoy being around.

It’s like my OCD takes a back seat for a while and allows me to live in the moment. That doesn’t mean that I’d allow myself to fall asleep after a raunchy night. Even if my partner didn’t shower afterwards, I always would. But, before and during coitus, I was just fine.

I finally realized that I had spaced out for a little too long when I noticed the concerned expression on Liam’s face. “Sorry, my mind strayed into the mysterious question of how my personal OCD works,” I admitted. “For example, how I’m totally fine with sex, but afterwards my OCD makes me anxious about the mess.”

“I don’t mind that at all. If… _when_ we get to that point, just tell me what you need for us to do so you can feel at ease,” Liam suggested.

As I gaped at the other man, I realized how rare it was to be talking about such things before we even tried each other out. Some of my past lovers were accommodating, just like Liam seemed to be. Others were too selfish to put in that kind of effort and I rarely had a peaceful rest. I felt my lips thin as I recalled how many times Kris took advantage of my body’s reaction to him to lure me back. Was I really so easy?

“Seth?”

I shook my head and focused my gaze back onto honey-hued eyes. “I’m just a space cadet today, aren’t I?” I grumbled, feeling irritated at myself for being so rude.

“Don’t worry about it, we all space out sometimes.” Liam pointed out. “I asked what movies you had in mind for after dinner.”

“I saw that you had Ant-Man. I haven’t seen it since its original release,” I replied.

“Sounds good to me.”

:::

We continued to talk for the rest of the day. I helped him with dinner and it was more fun than I would ever admit out loud.  During the movie, I was on my best behavior. We barely did more than cuddle until after the final post-credit scene. Before we decided on a second movie, we found ourselves making out. Hands slid beneath clothes, but it wasn’t until I dove a hand into his pants that we stopped.

I was only able to watch the first half of the second movie, the lengthy but classic Gone with the Wind, before I fell asleep. When I stirred awake for a brief moment, I noticed that we were in the bed in Liam’s room. However, a few gentle touches from Liam lulled me right back into sleep a mere moment after.

The two of us woke up to the sound of Shawn Mendes’s _Nothing Holdin’ Me Back_. I looked around for the alarm clock only to realize that the sound was coming from an alarm app on Liam’s phone. I started snickering.

“You like Shawn Mendes?” I teased. “I never would have thought it.”

Pink colored Liam’s face as he responded. “Yeah, my cousins stuffed my phone full of ‘modern songs’ a couple of weekends ago. They even set my alarm on random, so I never really know what song will pop up,” he explained.

“Tch.” I clucked my tongue. “Such a _reasonable_ reason. And here I thought you were a secret Shawn Mendes fan. My brother Michael’s a diehard Shawn Mendes fan, himself. Would have made for a hilarious conversation that I could have secretly recorded for blackmailing purposes.”

“Tell me you’re kidding,” Liam groaned as he clambered over me and held his arms on either side of my shoulders so he could look right into my eyes. “Or is this one of those moments where you’re actually being half-serious?”

The smile on my face was gleeful and downright childish as I shook my head. “Absolute truth. I’m nowhere near as much of a prankster as Michael or even Antoine. But, even _I’m_ barely more than a kid sometimes.”

I don’t know what he saw on my face, whether it was my expression or the fact that I was teasing him. But, I could almost see how his honey-hued eyes darkened a shade as he grinded down against me. My body instantly reacted and tried to grind right on back. I saw him take a sharp intake of breath before frowning and glancing down towards the lower half of our bodies.

“Would you be opposed to sharing a shower with me?” he suggested.

Though I was a bit surprised at the invite, I couldn’t help but feel excited at the thought. Touching each other without actual intercourse wouldn’t be a hundred percent satisfying, but being able to see Liam completely naked was worth holding back…at least for the time being.

By the time we really did stand before each other nude, I began to regret my decision. It wasn’t because of Liam. His nude form was not disappointing in the slightest. He actually had a bit more definition than his work clothes implied. I was the one who was self-conscious.

Before I became so involved with Kris, I had a bit of an ego when it came to my looks and my body. I wasn’t conceited to the point of posing before a reflection at every opportunity, but I was definitely proud of what I had. I used to have abs! Hell, I had better abs than even Liam’s at one point.

And yet, the lust on Liam’s face as his gaze raked over my average body was unmistakable. I had a feeling that he didn’t care what kind of shape I was in. The very idea was frightening to me. Why was it that I was fine with feeling lust towards others of all shapes and sizes, but felt wary accepting the same kind of judgeless acceptance from someone else?

Just what had Kris’s caustic relationship done to me?

While we were under the spray of the water, Liam took charge. I couldn’t have been more relieved. You see, I couldn’t think about my own shortcomings when I felt his flesh rocking against mine and his hand holding them both in place. I couldn’t recall Kris’s face when Liam’s mouth marked the side of my neck.

My thoughts were centered there and then.

When we released one after the other I felt so damn satisfied, I wondered why I even kept trying to push for more in the first place.

But, then Liam turned around to grab a sponge and shower gel. As my eyes drank up the sight of Liam’s wet hair and the water dripping down his back to the man’s tight ass and thighs, I knew that it just wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more of him, and I wanted him to have more of me.

:::

I couldn’t help the devious smirk on my face when we emerged from the bathroom in terry cloth robes some moments later. Liam had offered to wash my back after I washed his, but he ended up dropping all his pretenses and ended up grabbing and kneading my butt cheeks as if he were worshipping them. I let him do what he wanted with them, all the while stifling my laughter.

I dropped the case for my toothbrush while we took turns brushing our teeth and caught him staring at it when I bent down to pick it up. The robe did next to nothing to keep me covered. Unable to help myself, I teased him about having been spanked once as a kid and ending up with pink butt cheeks. I then left the bathroom when I saw his eyes glaze over.

When he finally walked out after me, he didn’t even look my way as he headed toward the closet. Ever curious, I walked up next to him to see what kind of clothes he had. I reached a hand out to touch a white dress shirt and marveled at the material.

“So soft,” I mused out loud.

Liam made a motion with his head. “If you want to borrow it, you can. I know that pants are a bit trickier a fit from my size to yours, but shirts should be fine.”

My fingers lingered along the cloth for a moment longer before I made my decision. “I think I will,” I stated. Liam let out a strange noise beside me and I turned to look at him, but by then he had already composed himself and cleared his throat.

“Keep it as long as you like,” he concluded before I walked back over to the guest room with the shirt in hand.

The two of us then went about getting dressed for work. Though I did bring a suit with me in preparation, I only pulled out the pants. The charcoal gray pants from my suit in combination with the soft white shirt looked better than I thought it would. The closer I looked, the more I realized that the shirt was actually a very pale gray. The collar had edges with a thin border of black. The buttons were clear. The sleeves were folded up to the elbow and the inside pattern were of black and burgundy tribal leaves. I left the top two buttons undone and noted that the inner button line also had the same black and burgundy leaf pattern as the inside of the sleeves.

I had never worn a simple button-up to work before, not without a vest and tie at the very least. But, I had to admit that it looked good on me. When I walked out into the hallway, I saw that Liam wore something similar. His shirt was a dark blue, but it was still folded up to the elbow. Liam never wore a tie of any kind, but I did sometimes see him with a vest on. That day, he opted to leave the vest behind. His pants were black.

As much as I looked him over, he was also looking me over.

“It looks better on you than it did on me,” he confessed.

“I feel a little naked without a tie, but I can live without one for a day,” I replied with a shrug.

The two of us decided to stop at a café to eat breakfast on our way to work. For the first time since Liam first began to flirt with me, I didn’t feel any shame whatsoever from being seeing getting out of the same car or holding hands with him. Which we did. Hold hands, I mean, during the entire walk to the elevator. We even kept our hands linked and didn’t release them until the elevator doors opened onto our floor.

Kathryn looked like she was about to have a heart attack. She rushed over and pressed the back of her hand to my temple. “First, you come to work without a vest, making me freak the heck out. And now there isn’t even a jacket or tie!?” She gasped as she looked me over. “Honey, you can confide in me. Did a close family member die? Did _you_ almost die?”

By that point, Liam couldn’t contain himself any longer. He burst out laughing right next to us. “And this is why you should change your style of work clothes up a bit more often, Seth,” he teased.

The receptionist turned towards him and frowned at his attire. Her gaze fell on my open collar and the hickey that resided there. She looked back and forth between us for a moment before inhaling a large gasp.

I pressed a finger to my lips in a sign to keep quiet, not because I didn’t want anyone else in the office to know, but because there were other employees already working that shouldn’t be disturbed.

“Oh my gosh,” she hissed in pure excitement as she motioned between Liam and me. _“Oh my gosh!”_

I blushed slightly at her over-the-top reaction, but Liam was grinning from ear to ear.

“Liam, you’re slayin’!” she told him. “So happy for you two.”

“See?” I added. “No one died. Not yet, anyway.”

“You can’t kill Liam, I’m a witness now.” Kathryn countered. “Don’t worry Liam, hun. He’s all bark and no bite.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that…” Liam mused aloud with a slight blush on his face.

“Alright, that’s enough,” I interrupted. “We need to get to work before the company heads drop by and say something.”

“My boyfriend’s got a point,” Liam agreed. He shot Kathryn one last grin and a wave before he walked over to his office.

“His _boyfriend_ ,” Kathryn teased, grinning herself.

“Yeah yeah,” I drawled sarcastically as I began to walk past.

“Seth?” she called one more time as I turned to look at her. “I’m really glad he picked you.”

I tilted my head slightly, unsure of what she meant. “Me?”

“As prickly as you make yourself out to be,” she elaborated. “I know better than most that you’re soft and squishy on the inside.”

“I-If you say so,” I whispered as I made my way to my office before she could see me getting a little teary-eyed. Kathryn’s words were kinder than I deserved. I was touched.

I turned on the PC and monitor before taking a seat at my desk, as usual. A glint on my desk caught my eye. I felt my stomach drop at the sight of the pyramid-rutilated quartz necklace laid out in stark contrast on top of my purple file folders.

_How had Kris gotten in here without being seen by Kathryn?_

 


	11. Michael Slater

A part of me felt a touch of fear at the idea of Kris invading my work place, be it only long enough to leave something on my desk and then leave. The rest of me was angry at the part of me that felt fear at all. No, it might not have made sense, but it was how I felt. It was my reality. I craved some semblance of control in my daily life; it was in my nature. An invasion of my personal bubble, be it my office or my house, well and truly bothered the hell out of me.

I had to down two mugs of black tea with milk and honey before I was able to force myself to focus on my administrative tasks. Once I got started, it wasn’t that difficult to stay on task, considering that Mondays were fairly busy. When eleven o’clock crawled around, I felt the effects of having gulped down so much tea. So, I rushed to the men’s room to relieve myself.

By the time I finished and started washing my hands, I felt loads better. Every now and then, one or more of the other employees on the floor would cross paths with me at the restroom. So, I thought nothing of the sound of one of the stalls unlocking and swinging open. That was until I looked up at the mirror to see the reflection of who it was.

I had just emptied my bladder but, for a brief moment, I nearly peed myself. My body moved so fast that my mind hadn’t fully caught up to the fact that I was fleeing. But, Kris was faster. He took hold of my elbow and tugged with such force that I nearly fell backward. The next moment, I was shoved against one of the doors of the stalls, and Kris sharply pressed his forefinger against my forehead, right between my eyebrows. A cellphone was in his hand, and I wondered if he had been holding it the entire time.

“Same old boring work, different building.” Kris drawled. “What took you so long to come to me? My battery’s nearly caput.”

Memories that I had buried away came flooding back to the forefront of my mind of Kris leaving me trinkets on my desk and then waiting for me in the janitor’s closet, beneath my desk, or in the restroom. He used to perform those kinds of gestures in the very beginning of our relationship, and whenever he needed to get back in my good graces. But, that’s all they ever were, _performances_.

Kris Locklear never gave gifts without strings attached.

I had been in such denial for years that I never allowed myself to recognize as much. The time I had wasted in our on and off relationship felt like it had been a lifetime ago. I no longer felt remorse, pity, or any kind of heartfelt forgiveness in the presence of such “gifts.” I only felt fear and disgust…the same fear and disgust I felt for the man in front of me.

“You don’t have the clearance to be in this building,” I said, but the words came out like a weak whimper.

“Yes, the cleaning lady…Lucy?” Kris responded with pride in his voice. “She was most kind allowing me to slip in to use the bathroom on this floor. She never bothered to make sure that I left. Finding your office was child’s play.”

I would definitely have a little talk with Lucy before the end of the day. The very thought of Kris having manipulated the kind woman made me angry enough to think clearly. “You are going to take that necklace back with you on your way out,” I all but demanded. “And you are never to step foot in my workplace ever again.”

The taller man let out a snort as he pocketed his cell phone and held my jaw tightly. _“Make me.”_

However, before I was able to move, his head dipped down. The moment felt quite surreal to me. I didn’t react fast enough before Kris’s lips were shoved against mine. The damn actor even managed to slip his tongue inside before he was suddenly ripped right off of me.

“The _fuck_?” I hissed as I wiped away at my mouth with the back of my hand. I felt nothing but revulsion and a touch of nausea, which was bewildering, as the green-eyed man’s kisses had never made me feel that way before.

When I finally focused on the sight before me, I felt even queasier. Liam was downright livid. I had never seen him so furious before.

“You have two choices,” Liam growled. One of his hands was fisted into Kris’s long hair while the other clutched his shoulder tightly. “Either walk out of here on your own two feet with your dignity still intact or be escorted by our security guards all the way out of the building.”

The shock on Kris’s face seemed genuine enough to make me think that he hadn’t realized that Liam was one of my co-workers.

“You have until the count of five,” Liam insisted as he shoved him towards the entrance of the restroom. “One, two…” He pulled his own cellphone out of his pocket and swiped it unlocked as he counted. He quickly snapped a picture of the actor’s face. “Three, four…”

Kris took one last glance at me, and I could see his face morph into an expression of rage before he all but stomped off.

 _“Five.”_ Liam finished as he sent the picture as an attachment to one of the security guards.

I saw his thumbs flying across the tiny digital keyboard, his text expressing the importance of enforcing security.

“I was at the copier when I saw you heading here to the men’s room,” Liam explained, startling me out of my reverie. “You took longer than sixty seconds, so I came in to tease you about it.” After he had sent the text with the attachment, his honey-hued eyes shifted right to me.

I felt my heart skip a beat. But, it wasn’t due to fear. Hell, it was a mixture of relief and a surge of untimely lust.

“I would have preferred that scenario a hundred times more to what I saw,” he concluded.

“Honestly, Liam…so do I,” I responded in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper. My hand reached out to take hold of his before I even realized it. But, Liam threaded his fingers through mine and gave it a gentle, supportive squeeze.

“I’m sorry that this happened to you,” he stated. “In our company building, of all places.”

I took a step closer and dropped my forehead onto his shoulder. “I’ve never wanted to work so much in my life just to keep my mind busy,” I confessed before giving a nervous, shaky laugh, trying to dispel the stress. “A part of me wants you to kiss his horrid taste out of my mouth. The other part doesn’t want you to catch Kris cooties.”

The auburn-haired man responded in kind by kissing me thoroughly. I didn’t think he’d heed such a request, especially when asked in such a childish manner. But, maybe Liam had felt something similar…the need to erase any trace of Kris Locklear from my person.

Either way, I most certainly wasn’t going to complain.

:::

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Never had I been more grateful to have been given so much work. I was so busy that I didn’t have time to linger about what happened.

When lunch came around, Liam urged me to eat with him and his team, and I was happy to accept the invitation. Liam’s fellow team members were polite enough not to voice their surprise at my presence.

After the work day was done, a part of me felt a touch of paranoia. I all but clung to Liam as we walked through the parking garage. Kris had gone to great lengths to show up early that morning. What was to stop him from hiding out in the garage?

But, all my fears were laid to rest when we saw no signs of him. Liam pulled out the garage without any incidents, and the two of us made our way back to my house.

Almost as soon as we pulled into the driveway, the door was opened and out rushed my younger brother, Michael. Only my immediate family members had a copy of my house key. I had to remember to make a copy for Liam in the future.

“Big bro!” He called out as he ran towards me with his hands flailing up in the air like some kind of big kid. His hair was also black, though it had a natural blue sheen to it, and reached down to his shoulders. His eyes were hazel.

My eyes were gray with a purer blue around the pupils, but his were gray with the color saffron around the pupils outlined with a touch of brown. He also had caramel-hued skin that he inherited from our paternal grandmother and was speckled with small, flat beauty marks that he considered to be his sexiest physical trait.

We hugged each other tightly, not letting go for a good moment. When it comes to family members, you’re not supposed to pick favorites. Though I’ve never said as much out loud, Michael was definitely my favorite. He was the first I had told about my orientation and the fastest one to instantly accept it. When we finally released one another, I turned towards Liam for introductions.

“Michael, this is my boyfriend, Liam Lux. Liam, this is my infamous younger brother Michael Slater.”

I saw my brother frown and lift a finger to his chin as he looked Liam over. He ignored the hand that Liam offered for a handshake and reached in to pat a hand against the man’s abdomen. Michael then circled around him like a hawk and gave a definitive nod before giving him a quick hug.

Poor Liam seemed a bit out of sorts as he awkwardly patted Michael’s back before he, too, was released.

“We don’t know each other much yet,” Michael said. “But, from the looks of it, you protected my brother over the weekend.” He finally grabbed Liam’s hand, giving it a firm shake. “Thanks, man.”

I let out a groan. “Not _just_ over the weekend. Kris tried to corner me at work, too,” I relayed.

I could almost see how quickly Michael’s pupils contracted at the news.

“Oh, I really hope he comes over here,” the college student commented in a low voice as he cracked his knuckles. “I would like nothing more than to have a few choice words with him.”

“Please, Mike, no violence,” I pleaded. “He can spin such tales that it’d only end up with you in a cell instead of him.”

“ _Violence?_ I don’t even _need_ to lay a hand on that skinny coward for him to fear me. _”_ My brother scoffed as he tapped his temple with a finger. “I _know_ his brand of crazy, and he doesn’t want to come anywhere _near_ me. Not after last time.”

A part of me wanted so badly to know just what Michael had said or done to Kris to scare him off last time. If Liam and I hadn’t gone to the fair and come across Kris, would we be in this situation right now? Had the sight of me somehow triggered him into old habits? A frown formed on my face when I thought of the last time Michael stayed with me. Some days, I couldn’t get him to wake up before noon. I assumed that he had been staying up to study. Now, I wonder just what he had been doing.

“Mike, what did you- ” I began, only to be cut off.

“So, Liam,” Michael prompted. “How’d you get my bro to agree to go out with you? For the longest time, he didn’t date anyone no matter what I tried.”

“To be honest, it took about two years for him to take me seriously,” Liam began as the two of them walked towards the house. “But, then one day, there was a bit of an emergency revolving a pair of torn pants…”

“Yeah, I heard about that!” Michael eagerly responded with a grin. “You really did him a solid that day.”

I placed my hands on my hips and shook my head. On one hand, I was glad that Michael and Liam were making an effort to get along. On the other hand, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to get any more information out of my brother about what he did to Kris in the past to make the actor fear him.

After the three of us were inside, I couldn’t have felt safer. My house felt like a haven once again. I wondered what their reaction would be if I asked them both to actually move in with me? I could only dream. For the time being, I was grateful to have two of my favorite people under the same roof, even if it was for a small while.

“That reminds me!” Michael’s voice snapped me out of my reverie. “I brought over a huge pizza from that place near campus you said you liked, Seth. Half’s vegetables, the other half’s Margherita!”

“Haven’t had Margherita in a long time,” I mused aloud. “Thanks, Mike!”

Michael made a show of pressing a hand to the corner of his mouth as he whispered dramatically to Liam. “This is why I’m his favorite.” He then rushed about to pour Sprite into three cups for us to drink.

That drew forth a laugh from the auburn-haired man before my brother urged him to grab a couple of slices. Then, the three of us ate and conversed. We talked about movies, Michael’s best friend’s antics while on campus, and about family. Between the three of us, there wasn’t a single slice of pizza left.

Then, Liam stood up to leave. Michael and I walked him over to the door.

“I’m…gonna go take a shower first,” Michael insisted with a smug expression on his face as he walked away backward and waved good bye to Liam. “Was nice meeting you!”

“Same!” Liam called after him before stepping outside. He peered down at me. “Are you sure you two are going to be alright by yourselves? I wouldn’t mind staying over.”

I cupped the side of his face with a hand. “We’ll be fine. I promise that I’ll call or text if I need you for anything, even if just your presence. It’s been a while since I’ve spent some time with my brother.”

“If it’s what you prefer, then I won’t insist,” he replied.

I closed the door behind me after I stepped out with him and smiled as Liam leaned down to give me a parting kiss. I responded in kind, sticking to his pace, but wrapped my arms around his neck to keep him in place. The kiss was quite chaste in comparison to others that we had shared, but Liam then whispered into my ear just why.

“Don’t look now, but Mike seems to be filming us on his phone from the window,” he explained.

“Hmm, too nervous to give him more of a show?” I teased in a return whisper.

Liam pressed another soft kiss to my lips. “Just want to leave him with a good first impression,” he pointed out.

“See you tomorrow at work, then,” I replied. “Unless you’d want to go somewhere for dinner afterward…”

“You mean for our second official date?” He asked a little too eagerly, which made me snicker.

“Yes, it can be our second official date.” I agreed though I did find it silly at that point to keep counting. I had already agreed to be his boyfriend, after all. Regardless, I decided to humor him. If it were that important to him that we reach the end of our agreement, then I would allow him to reach it on his own terms.

The smile on his face was bright and hopeful. I had a feeling that I would have to keep on encouraging him until the very end for him to truly believe that I wanted to be with him.

“Then, I’ll find some good restaurants near the company building and text you the options later tonight,” Liam suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” I agreed.

He gave me another kiss, one that was quite a bit more enthusiastic than the previous one, and then made his way to his car in good spirits. By the amount of tongue that was involved in that last kiss, I wondered if he completely forgot that my brother was probably still recording.

I let out a sigh and made a conscious effort not to touch my lips or face as I walked back inside. “ _Michael Slater,”_ I began in an authoritative tone of voice. “If that clip ends up on social media, I might suddenly forget that we’re related and will punish you accordingly.”

“Oh, come on! I’d never do that,” Michael countered. “Besides, I don’t actually _share_ anything on my social media accounts. I only browse the stuff _other_ people post.” He then waved the phone in front of him. “ _This_ is the clip I’m showing mom, dad, Antoine, and Cara when I next visit them!”

My jaw dropped. “You _wouldn’t_!”

“I would and I _will_!” He teased as I started chasing him around the house. “Antoine and dad will probably be grossed out, but I’m sure Cara and mom will simply swooooon!”

“Get back here!” I called out as he kept running out of my reach. “You better delete it!”

“I just e-mailed it to myself, so even if you do delete it, I still have another copyyyy!”

_“Damn it, Mike!”_

Laughter and the sound of running echoed throughout the house until the two of us flopped down onto the carpet of the guest room, gasping for air.

“I just hate these crazy stunts you pull,” I huffed between breaths as I glanced over at him. “But, I’ve sure missed you.”

Michael curled onto his side as he locked gazes with me. The expression on his face was pure childlike glee. “Love you too, bro.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	12. No Maiming Allowed

In a flurry of funny video clips, pictures, texts, and general babbling, my brother filled me in on his life since the last time I had seen him. It was amazing how much could happen in the span of a few months. Hell, it was amazing what could happen in just a few days.

“…and that’s when Vivi told me to ‘forget about that twit’ and that we were officially best friends, though she had already considered me her best friend!” Michael concluded. “She’s really something. I’m glad to have found her.”

“Can’t wait to meet her,” I responded. “If she put Jara in her place after what she did to you, she’s good in my book.”

A wide smile formed on Michael’s face as he folded his legs in front of him and rocked back and forth on the bed. The pajamas he wore were a set that he already had left from last time. I always kept any clothes he left behind clean for the next sleepover.

“Sooooo,” Michael drawled as a devious glint formed in his hazel eyes. “You caved into Liam the Irritant, ey?”

An involuntary blush burned my cheeks. I must have mentioned Liam to Michael more than a few times through texts for him to have remembered my calling him ‘Liam the Irritant.’ The auburn-haired man really got under my skin even back then.

“Yeah, something like that,” I confessed. “I was in denial and refused to believe him until he became really persistent around the time of his birthday…”

“Ooooh, his birthday!” Mike snickered. “Who’d turn someone down on their birthday? That’s downright cruel.”

“Exactly! I felt like I had no choice,” I explained before biting my lower lip and sheepishly glancing down at my fidgeting hands. “At least, that’s what I kept telling myself, anyway. All the while, I guess I kept feeling like I wasn’t good enough for him.”

“Heh, from the way he oh-so-willingly shoved his tongue down your throat before he left, I’d say you’re plenty good enough,” Michael teased. “And I’m not just saying that because I’m your brother.”

I could feel the rest of my face gathering blood. “He’s actually a pretty good kisser,” I whispered before covering my face with a pillow and flopping back on the bed.

“God, I never thought I’d live to see the day I’d actually be _glad_ to hear that.”

I lifted the corner of the pillow enough to peer over at him. As much as it sucked to admit it, he was right. For too many years, my body seemed to be addicted to Kris’s touch and kisses. Between my chaotic feelings for him and the way that my very skin craved him, it seemed as if I would never break free from him.

The worst part was that everyone that was close to me, especially Michael, wanted to help me break ties with Kris for good. But, I kept going back. I kept disappointing them. It was as if I no longer cared about myself if the actor wasn’t a part of my life. I had bent completely to his desires and his will. But, none of it was enough for him to be faithful to me, to truly love me.

There was a time that such thoughts caused my heart to constrict with pain. There was a time that those memories downright haunted me, bled into my dreams, and tormented me.

But, the new memories I made with Liam were so vibrant and prevalent that they were really starting to outweigh the past.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long,” I apologized to my brother.

As usual, my brother didn’t seem to skip a beat. “No one’s perfect, man. You’re out of that slump and are smiling again. Liam deserves not to be punched just for that fact alone.”

 _“What?”_ I gasped, tensing up and pulling myself back into a sitting position. “Don’t you dare punch him! No one better punch him!”

“Chill, chill!” Mike countered. “And listen more closely to the words coming outta my mouth. I said that because he helped you out of your slump that we _wouldn’t_ punch him.”

I finally relaxed and clambered over to give Michael an annoyed swat. “I really like this one. Can’t afford to have him maimed.”

My brother’s face lit up. “You just admitted you like him without any sarcasm in your voice!” He practically squealed. “Cara and mom are gonna flip!”

I shook my head. “Your word against mine? They’re probably not going to believe you.”

A downright devilish smirk formed on his face as he revealed that he had a recorder beneath the pillow. “Not if I have evidence!” He declared as he held the recorder out of my reach.

“Give me that!”

I struggled to get the recorder from Michael’s hand, but the younger man was too damn fast. After a couple of minutes, I let out a huff of air and gave in. “Blasted brothers and their gadgets,” I grumbled.

Michael was chuckling darkly as he hid the recorder away. “Seeing and hearing is believing,” he sang.

In spite of the embarrassment I was sure to undergo during our next family gathering, hearing the jovial tone in his voice made me feel warm inside.

“Tomorrow Liam and I are going out to dinner together after work. I’ll order something and bring it in a box for you,” I commented.

“Sweet,” Michael responded. “I’ll be here.”

“Thanks again for doing all this,” I said.

“It’s all good, I know my Christmas and birthday gifts from you will likely be awesome this year,” he joked. “I mean I _am_ your favorite…”

I let out a snort. “Ego, ego.”

“Learned it from you!”

The two of us then settled down and went to sleep.

:::

The following day, there was no sign of Kris anywhere. When I got to work, Liam was already there. I wondered if he made the effort to arrive early just to sweep the grounds. I motioned towards my office with my head and locked the door after he entered so we could greet each other with a simple kiss.

At least, that had been the _intention_. By the time Liam left my office, his hair stuck out on random ends and his dress shirt was more than a bit rumpled.

Kathryn couldn’t have hidden all her excitement if she tried.

Though it was a Tuesday, staff meetings were usually held once a month, which meant that our next staff meeting wouldn’t be for another two Tuesdays. The day went by calmly and productively. Once again, I ate lunch with Liam and his team. They even had a spot saved for me.

I asked Liam if it had been something he asked them to do, but he shook his head and told me that they planned it on their own. I would have thought he had lied but Liam was not only a very honest person, but the spot that they saved for me wasn’t even near Liam. Could they have actually enjoyed my presence?

After lunch, time seemed to go by fast. Liam and I chose one of the restaurants close to our building for dinner. We were seated and given a pair of menus to peruse.

“For starters, what would you gentlemen like to drink?” The waitress addressed us. “And would you like any appetizers this evening?”

“Just some water with lemon for me,” I responded.

“Sprite for me.” Liam added. “No appetizers this time.”

“Then I’ll be right back with those drinks for ya,” the waitress stated as she walked away.

As I looked through the menu, I was surprised to feel a slight tap on the side of my foot. At first, I thought it was just a clumsy movement, but the look on Liam’s face said otherwise as he tapped my foot again. The smile on his face was the same ‘resting’ smile he wore during polite conversation. But, his honey-hued eyes were looking right at me.

“Hmm?” He prompted, as if daring me to retaliate.

The waitress returned just then with our chosen drinks. She took our full orders and, as soon as she walked off, I bit my lower lip and slid my foot out of my shoe to rub the side of it along one of Liam’s ankles. The socks I wore to work were always soft and of high quality. Mine usually reached up to a third of my calf, but Liam’s cut off at the ankles, so I knew that he could feel the material along his skin.

The next thing I knew, my foot was caught between both of Liam’s. The other man had slid his shoes off, as well, so I could feel the warmth through the socks. As much as he tried, he couldn’t quite wiggle his foot beneath my pants leg. But, I was able to slide one of mine a little under his.

We paused in our game of footsie when the waitress finally came back with our food. I had remembered to also order Michael’s food to go. I knew what my brother liked, so it was easy to decide for him. Such thoughts reminded me that I didn’t know much of what Liam liked to eat. So, I paid close attention to his meal.

Liam liked his steak medium well. He had chosen the filet with a lobster tail and broccoli, so he didn’t seem averse to sea food. I had chosen the parmesan chicken with grilled shrimp and broccoli. Our games and conversation came to a standstill as we ate our fill. We were both quite hungry by that time.

We split the bill and were handed Michael’s order in a take-home bag. We then walked out to our respective cars.

“Mind if I come over for a little bit and greet your brother while I’m at it?” Liam suggested.

“If you feel like it,” I replied and then inwardly cursed when I realized how curt that sounded. “I mean, I’d _like_ it if you came over.”

The smile that formed on his face after I said it made it worth the effort.

We arrived one after the other. Michael was in the living room watching Marvel movies.

“Liam?” Michael greeted as he paused the movie and turned around, shifting onto his knees to regard us.

“Nice to see you again,” Liam responded.

“Brought you some filet mignon,” I called out, which prompted Michael to leap over the couch towards the kitchen.

“No way!” Mike gasped as he rushed to sit down at the table. “I think I’m drooling, I can’t remember the last time I ate filet mignon.”

I set the bag in front of him and smirked. “Enjoy. Liam and I will be in my room for a bit.”

“W-wait! Liam, dude,” Michael urged as he pointed at Liam with a fork. “No hardcore hanky-panky when I’m under the same roof, alright?”

Liam burst out laughing. “Understood.”

“I’m serious, just thinking about it could ruin my decadent meal!” Michael insisted.

“For pity’s sake, Mike!” I huffed. “We’re not going to go that far on a work night…not yet, at least.”

I felt the blush on my face well before I dragged Liam over to my room and locked the door behind him.

There were still traces of mirth on Liam’s face.

“Sorry about that,” I said with a sigh. “I think he’s just worried that I’ll get hurt again.”

“And he doesn’t seem to know about our ‘no rushing into this’ agreement,” Liam pointed out.

I tried not to pout, but failed miserably. “Well, that’s really between you and me. And I haven’t fully agreed to that agreement!”

Liam grinned. “Then that means that you partially _have_ agreed to it.”

I opened my mouth to refute it, but realized that he was right. I decided to get rid of the grin on his face, instead. With a tug on his collar, I urged him to lean down and kiss me. He complied rather nicely, might I add. I let him control the pace of the kiss and, though it was a touch slower than I would have preferred, it was also quite thorough and pleasant.

I gasped when I felt the tip of his tongue brush along the roof of my mouth and curled my fingers into the hair on the back of his head. The hands that he had on my hips hesitantly slid over to my clothed backside to give it a squeeze. If I weren’t too busy kissing him back, I’d have laughed at his trepidation.

 _“Mmm!”_ Came a loud sound just outside my door. “This ice cream sandwich sure is _cold…_ just like tall, blue popsicles and blue rubber balls!”

_“Damn it, Michael!”_

 

 

 


	13. The Talk Test

Liam laughed for almost an entire minute. I, on the other hand, was displeased. I let out a little growl and raked a hand through my hair as I sat down on the edge of my bed. I contemplated ways to get my brother back later on. Michael had yet to date anyone since he started college two years prior, but I was patient. The scowl on my face must have worried Liam, because he walked over to sit beside me.

His breath was shaky as he finally settled down his laughter. “I don’t mind, I know he was just playing with us,” he pointed out as he took hold of my hand and threaded his fingers through it.

He began to gently run his thumb along the back of my hand and I started to forget what I was even annoyed about. “You know, that’s really not fair,” I began as I squirmed. “Distracting me with the hand rubbing thing…”

By the small smirk that tugged the corner of Liam’s lips, I knew that he knew. Instead of irritation, the feeling that began to bubble up inside me was pure excitement. I was about to tackle the auburn-haired man to my bed, but the conscience in the back of my head reminded me that I should go at Liam’s pace.

Liam surprised me by tugging me onto his lap in a way that my legs straddled either side of him. His large, warm hands left a fiery trail as they slid up my outer thighs and settled on my ample backside. “Hmm, I find it hilarious how obsessed you seem to be with that part of my anatomy,” I commented as I stroked at his upper back in a relaxed manner.

“Not gonna lie,” Liam responded as he gave it a squeeze. “I think you might be right about that.” He admitted. “When I was being interviewed and shown around the company, I would have completely botched it all if I kept staring in your direction when you bent down to pick up a sheet of paper that had flown off the copier.”

I let out a snort. “So, you’re saying that even before you saw my face, you were enamored with my butt?” I questioned.

Liam grinned. “Yeah, I had the most dumbstruck expression on my face. It was actually thanks to Kathryn that I was able to snap out of it.”

“Kathryn? Really?”

“She called me out and said ‘his name’s Seth Slater, so come and find him later’,” he recalled.

“That fashionista traitor,” I huffed. “So, she was trying to hook us up from day one.”

 “When I first saw your face, you were laughing at something your old boss said. Your smile really did a number on me,” Liam confessed.

“Heh. And then at the staff meeting, you heard me open my mouth. That would have been enough to deter anyone.” I joked. “The way I gripe and complain.”

The grin on Liam’s face widened. “On the contrary, I thought you were just the funniest thing. I wanted to, at the very least, be your friend.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And you’d have been content just being friends?”

He shook his head. “I would have wanted more of you no matter what,” he affirmed as he looked me right in the eye.

My heart skipped a beat without my permission, as it always seemed to like to do around Liam. “Well,” I drawled. “If you can live with my grouchiness and cleaning routines, I guess I could make the effort to get used to your stubborn streaks and energy.”

The next thing I knew, I felt one of Liam’s hands on the back of my head and was pulled into a searing kiss. His tongue eagerly invaded my mouth and I savored the heat of the appendage rubbing against my own. I flicked the tip of my tongue against his upper lip and his teeth gently tugged at my lower ones. Heat began to rise right off my body from head to toe as my shaft gave a nearly painful throb inside my pants.

Why the fuck was I still wearing pants?

I don’t remember which one of us pulled away first, but it was probably me. My hands quickly undid the button and zipper of my pants. I then lifted myself high enough to roughly tug the pants down enough to free my stiffening erection.

Liam let out a pleased sound and gave my shaft a few strokes before he urged me back up enough for him to free his own length. His lips found mine once more as the two of us stroked our own members. I felt him make his way down to nip and suck on the side of my neck.

He seemed to really like marking me. As a rush of pleasure rolled through me, I realized that I really liked it, as well. I blindly reached for one of my pillows and shoved it between us as we grinded and rocked against each other.

I pulled off my dress shirt and he pulled his shirt off as well. We both dove into another kiss, all but devouring one another. His arms wrapped around me and tugged me impossibly closer. My fingers dug into his scalp as the heat continued to radiate between us.

Liam pulled away to gasp a few moments later and I had the pleasure of seeing his honey hued eyes darken into an amber shade. He held on to my hips tightly as he humped up against me, pillow and all, and came. I followed shortly after.

“Damn,” I panted. “One of us really has to pick up some condoms already.”

A part of me seemed to look forward to hearing Liam’s laughter. I wasn’t disappointed.

:::

Liam was once again a rumpled mess by the time I walked him out to the door. He gave me a sound kiss on the lips before taking off. As I gazed at the closed door, I tried to ignore the mixture of giddiness and the desire to see him again as soon as humanly possible. But, I couldn’t bring myself to deny how much I liked him anymore.

“Soooo, did you tap _his_ ass or was it the other way around?” Michael teased from the sofa in the living room.

I walked over and sharply flicked his ear.

_“Ow!”_

“Are you _trying_ to scare my new boyfriend away?” I questioned with my hands on my hips.

“No, I was just kidding, you know?” Michael insisted as he rubbed at his ear. “I’m your brother. It’s like a universal rule that I gotta give Liam the _test_.”

“Don’t you mean the _talk_?” I countered.

“Right, what you said,” he agreed as he waved a set of noise-cancellation headphones around in his hand. “I meant to say the _talk_.”

I let out a long sigh and shook my head. “Not that it’s any of your business, but there wasn’t any ass tapping involved. Ass _groping_ maybe.”

“…was it because of me?” Michael asked, a touch of concern bleeding into his voice.

I ruffled the top of his head and clicked my tongue. “No. Though he didn’t mind having a brat hovering at the door. If I insisted enough, it probably would have happened whether you were down here or not.”

“Then, why _didn’t_ it?”

“Why? That’s for me and _Liam_ to know,” I responded. “I can’t give you _all_ the details.”

Michael tilted his head as he regarded me. “Well, you don’t really seem too upset over it, so I’ll take it as a good thing!” He then stood up and stretched. “I’m going to take a shower first in the guest bathroom. If you’re lucky, I might even leave you some hot water!”

He was already halfway there by the time I called out to him. “You better _not_ take all the hot water!”

:::

When my brother emerged nearly a half an hour later, he was towel-drying his hair. But, there really was plenty of heated water left for my own shower. The two of us then watched an episode of one of Michael’s favorite TV shows when my phone gave off a text alert.

_“I made it through the wilderness!”_

I frowned in confusion. I didn’t set my alerts to that sound.

“ _Michael!”_ I hissed as I reached for it. “When did you change my alert tones? How did you even unlock my phone?”

Mike shrugged. “Your pattern was in the shape of an ‘S’ for ‘Seth’ so it wasn’t that hard to figure out. And you left your phone out here while the two of you were having fun, I couldn’t help myself.”

“So you set Liam to Madonna?” I questioned. “How…?”

At that, he snickered. “You were the one that wrote out in your journal how the song ‘Like a Virgin’ was beginning to suit him!”

My eyes widened. “You read my _journal_?”

“I was bored waiting for you to get home after your dinner date,” he confessed in a whiny voice.

Before I was able to strangle him, the phone gave off another text alert. I gripped the device in my hand and scowled. “We’ll talk about this later,” I warned as I headed to my room for some privacy.

I could still hear him giggling in the distance up until the moment I shut the door. I dragged a hand down my face in frustration as I began to remember how little privacy I had whenever the brat was around. When I glanced down at the screen, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Michael had changed Liam’s screen name from ‘Shameless’ to ‘Virginal.’

**Virginal   9:47PM**

_< Looks like I took up your usual reading time. My apologies._

_< Not sure if you’re even still awake. _

I’m awake! Sorry for the late reply. Michael’s been more mischievous than usual. >

_< Oh? How so?_

Well, he read my journal while we were having dinner and then sabotaged my phone while we were…distracted. >

_< You have a journal? And how did he sabotage your phone? How are you able to text me? _

No, not physically. > (My fingers hovered over the digital keyboard as I thought of how to tell him.)

He, uh…he set a Madonna song as your text alert and then changed your screen name to match it. >

< _Which one? Material girl? Holiday?_

…Like a virgin. >

< _Wait, you mean from that one conversation? You wrote about it in your journal?_

…yes.>

< _I’m in your journal? Really? That’s awesome! <3_

(I glared at the screen for a moment. Did he really just text an exclamation mark and an emoji heart?)

Once again, I think you’re happy for all the wrong reasons.>

< _Would you ever let me read it?_

What? No! …maybe? On second thought, just no.>

_< What’s Michael’s number again?_

Don’t collaborate with my brother against me!>

_< What about when I need to plan a surprise for you?_

I’ve never been a fan of surprises.>

_< Even if I let you know before hand?_

Just how did we end up in this conversation, again?>

_< Mike messed with your phone after reading about me in your journal. _

Then how about we get back to why you texted me in the first place?>

_< Wednesday’s a fairly slow day for everyone. How about we make it an outing after work? _

An outing?>

_< Yeah, Michael included! How does bowling sound?_

(I thought about it for a moment. A part of me wanted to spend more time with Liam alone. But, another part of me understood that he wanted to get to know my family. I wondered if it would always feel as if he’d slow things down whenever we got too close. I couldn’t remember the last time I dated anyone that was that serious. Was it really as bad as I kept making it out to be?)

I’ll ask him and let you know tomorrow at work.>

_< Great! See you then. _

:::

I don’t know how long it took me to fix my settings, but I let out a long sigh of relief when my phone was finally back to normal. I then headed back over to my brother. The wide grin on Michael’s face when I told him about the possible outing made me feel equal parts joy and suspicion.

“I still haven’t agreed to this,” I warned him. “If you’re to go with us, you better be on your best behavior. That means no teasing Liam to the extreme, no embarrassing tales of our childhood, and no intentional injuries.”

Michael lifted a finger to his chin as he thought it through. “So…I can tease Liam a TINY bit and tell NOT-so embarrassing stories of our childhood?” He offered.

My lips thinned as I thought it over. I then held out my hand for him to shake. “Deal.”

 

 ::

a/n: Is anyone still reading this one?

 

 

 

 

 

 


	14. Not Alone

Liam and I arrived to work on Wednesday morning around the same time. Someone joined us at the elevator in the parking garage, so I figured we would behave ourselves on the way up. That was when I felt the auburn-haired man slyly reach a hand down to cop a feel. When I looked up at him, he had a teasing half-smirk on his face. I scrunched up my nose at him in a petulant manner and was nearly caught with such a childish face by the man in front of us as he turned towards his department.

I was about to head out the doors after him, but Liam blocked my path and gave me a quick kiss that I felt all the way down to my toes. The elevator doors almost closed on me by the time I snapped out of it and walked through them. He kept surprising me, that one.

As I passed Kathryn, she wafted a file folder towards my face as if to fan me. “Hmm, and here I thought Liam couldn’t make you blush any harder after he finally got you to date him,” she mused out loud.

“Hush, you,” I huffed as I ducked into my office and tried to will the blush away.

Though Wednesdays usually were slow days, that particular Wednesday was a bit busy. I even had to take a later lunch due to a conference call. I entered the break room just when Liam and his team were getting ready to leave. They greeted me as they passed by and I returned the gesture. Liam lingered a bit longer, giving my hand a gentle squeeze and a kiss when before leaving with the rest. I shook my head and ate my lunch in generally peaceful silence.

The rest of the work day went by slower than the first half. On our way back to our cars in the parking lot, Liam said he’d pick us up after he changed at home to go to the bowling alley. During the drive back home, I heard a song on the radio station that made me think of him.

“Big bro!” Michael greeted as I walked through the door. He was already dressed and ready to go in a pair of white jeans and a dark purple shirt with tribal designs on it in silver.

“Little bro,” I returned as I took off my shoes at the entrance. “Hey, can you help me figure out the name of a song? One of the lyrics is ‘anywhere I go, there you are.’”

“Vance Joy’s Fire and the Flood?” He questioned. “I can upload it to your phone later if you want.”

“Yeah, I think that’s it!” I responded. “Thanks.”

“Should I set it to Liam’s ringtone?” Michael teased.

“Actually, yes,” I admitted as I fought down yet another blush.

Michael made pretend gagging noises. “You two are gonna give me cavities.”

“Mm hmm, keep playing around like that and we won’t bring you with us,” I warned.

“H-hey now, I said I’d be good,” he pleaded. “ _Most_ of the night, anyway.”

I shook my head as I headed towards my room. “I’m gonna go shower and change.”

“The clothes better involve jeans of some sort and a graphic tee!” Michael called after me. “We’re going bowling, not to a fancy restaurant.”

“We’ll see!” I replied.

After I came back out to the living room in my chosen clothes, Michael had a deep set frown on his face.

“What?” I questioned.

“You are so not wearing that,” Michael insisted as he took hold of my wrist and led me over to his room.

“What’s wrong with this?” I countered.

“You are _not_ leaving this house with that ridiculous belt, shapeless jeans, and a buttoned polo shirt. We’re going bowling, not golfing.”

“Ok, then what-” I was cut off when he tossed a pair of pants at me. I gaped at them. “Michael…these are a pair of skinny jeans.”

“Exactly, they’re perfect,” Michael stated. “And they’re the stretchable kind, so they should fit your big booty just fine. Put ‘em on.”

I drew my lips into a thin line as my brother dug for a graphic t-shirt of some kind. With a deep breath, I unbuckled my belt and changed into the dark blue skinny jeans. I was afraid that it would be a great struggle to pull them on, but they were a size larger than I thought. I was very careful when I zipped them and buttoned them, but I was quite surprised that they fit well.

Michael then handed me a large, black shirt with Marvel characters printed on them from the movie Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. The shirt was loose and long enough to cover half of my backside, which made me feel a rush of relief. Though I was certain that Liam would have appreciated the view, I wasn’t as vain as I was in the past and didn’t feel like flaunting.

“Much better,” my brother appraised. “Now you’re ready.”

The sound of the doorbell urged us both towards the door. When I saw that Liam wore a pair of slim green cargos and a darker green shirt, I realized that Michael had a point. I grabbed my phone, wallet, and house keys while my brother rushed out ahead of me. He gave Liam a fist bump as he passed him and headed towards the ginger’s car.

I followed along after closing up. Liam gave me a kiss as a greeting and then threaded his hand into mine as we headed towards his car. Michael was already seated in the back.

Liam asked Michael general questions during the drive there and my brother volleyed the questions right back at him. 

“…but, on the bright side, we have a big selection of clothes to borrow from each other in a pinch,” Michael said. “You learn to share the hard way when you’re one of four. Doesn’t hurt to be the youngest and the cutest, though.”

“Not as a baby, you weren’t,” I teased. “You were quite the grumpy little thing.”

“That I was,” he agreed. “Good thing I grew out of it.”

“I’m an only child, but I had a lot of cousins growing up,” Liam admitted. “It seemed like every weekend and every couple of months, different aunts and uncles would come over with their kids. We lived near all the parks, though.”

“I’m guessing that over the summer your house was jam packed, then?” I mused aloud.

“Absolutely,” Liam confessed. “It’s like we were a hotel or something. As a kid, I would actually look forward to going back to school since the house would finally be empty again, ha ha.”

“Do you still keep in touch with your cousins?” Michael wondered.

“Oh yeah, they text me all the time and whenever I visit them, some even keep the music on my phone up to date,” Liam replied.

I let out a snicker. “He’s not kidding. His phone even has a bunch of Shawn Mendes songs.”

“I love Shawn Mendes songs!” Michael piped up.

“You and my cousins would probably get along great, then.” Liam replied with a laugh.

We found parking without any difficulty and were relieved to see that the bowling alley wasn’t as crowded as it usually was over the weekend. We paid for the rentals and were assigned a lane. Michael was quite eager. He switched out his shoes the fastest and ran off to find a bowling ball. Liam showed me a few pictures of his cousin on his phone and then stood up to find a bowling ball for himself.

When I came across a picture of Liam’s parents, I smiled and closed out of the gallery. A text came in from one of his cousins and as I closed out of it, his other texts were shown on a list. Recognizing one of my own texts, I clicked on it and was surprised at the screenname he had chosen for me. I quickly closed out of it and set it down as I blushed for the umpteenth time that day. The Future Mr. Lux? _Seriously?_

Seth Lux…it actually didn’t sound all that bad, not that I couldn’t have it hyphenated to Seth Slater-Lux. With a snort, I grabbed my own cellphone and changed Liam’s nickname to The Possible Mr. Slater because, damn it, Liam Slater didn’t sound all that bad, either. I tucked my phone away and stood up to find a bowling ball, hoping that my face was no longer a pink hue.

:::

“Liam, I don’t like you anymore,” Michael whined as he ended up with his fourth split immediately following Liam’s strike.

I couldn’t help but laugh, hoping that my game wasn’t thrown off as I swung my ball down the lane. To my surprise, the pins slowly trickled down into a strike. “Ha!” I exclaimed as I raised two fists in the air in victory.

“Yeah, yeah,” Michael commented with a petulant pout. “Probably just a fluke.”

“Oh, how the haters do hate,” I teased him with a grin. My score was the lowest out of the three of us, but Michael had yet to get a single strike.

The game continued on and it wasn’t until Michael’s second to last swing that he finally landed a strike.

“Woo!” My brother cried out as he danced in place. “Finally!”

The three of us were in high spirits as we got ready to leave. Liam tossed me the keys to the car so Michael and I could get settled while he returned our shoes.

“That was fun,” Michael admitted. “Not the losing part, mind you, but hanging with Liam’s not bad.”

“Then it was all worth it,” I concluded aloud. I didn’t dare mention the fact that he didn’t bring up any embarrassing stories even once because I didn’t want to jinx the ride home.

“Oh, one of my shoes is untied,” Michael stated as he knelt down on his side of the car to tie them.

As I pressed the button to unlock the car, I heard a voice behind me.

“You changed your phone again,” rumbled a familiar and aggravating voice. I turned around and, sure enough, it was Kris.

His hair was pulled into a mid-ponytail. The clothes he had on looked like clubbing clothes. I recalled a club that was about a block away from the bowling alley. I didn’t know if he was stalking me or not that night. But, the sight of him made me feel tired and weary.

“And you’re out and about again,” I responded dryly. “Why do you keep bothering me? You don’t love me, you never have.”

“That’s not true, Seth,” Kris argued as he reached for my hand, but I took a few steps back.

“ _Don’t_ touch me,” I annunciated.

My refusal angered him and he grabbed a fistful of my shirt so quickly that I didn’t even realize what he was doing until I was tugged forcefully closer.

“I _do_ love you,” He hissed as he slapped me in the face and slammed me against the side of the car. “God damn it, Seth!” He growled as he slammed me against the car a second time.

I felt an unpleasant shiver of fear running through my body and I braced myself for a fight, but a sudden noise drew both our attention towards Michael as he stood up.

“Heh,” Michael scoffed as he walked towards us with his phone out recording. “Don’t kid yourself, you crazy fucker. You don’t know what love _is_.”

Kris let go of me so fast that I ended up slumped against the door of the car. As the green-eyed man made a run for it, he bumped into Liam. He scowled at him and then ran off. I had never seen that expression of fear on Kris’s face before. It was damn surreal.

When Liam finally caught up to us at the car, the expression on his face was part concern and part fury. “What was _he_ up to?” He all but growled.

“Looked like he was trying to get back into Seth’s good graces in his usual slimy manner,” Michael drawled as he saved the recording. “But, don’t worry. I have plenty on Kris. If the police won’t take his violence seriously, his workplace certainly will.”

He then opened the back door of the car and sat down. “After all,” Michael murmured. “They took it seriously _last_ time.”

:::

The ride back home was tense, to say the least.

“You did _what?_ ” I questioned.

“I followed him one day and recorded him getting too rough with one of his boy toys,” Michael confessed. “The police didn’t do much of anything saying it wasn’t enough proof. So, I did the next best thing…I took it straight to the CEO of his entertainment group. The company didn’t like the idea of keeping a wild card like Kris around, so they fired him and warned other companies about him.”

“That’s why he was working at Ren fest! He wasn’t doing it for exposure or charity, it was because he couldn’t get another job,” I realized.

“Kris doesn’t know that I went to the police first,” Michael continued. “So, I told him that if he didn’t keep away from my brother, I’d show the police the recording.”

“And it worked, at least for a good few years,” I said as the pieces started falling into place. “But, then he saw me with Liam…”

“And his crazy ass started getting obsessed all over again,” Michael deduced. “I’ll talk to the police again. After all, this time I got proof of him getting rough with my own brother. You have no idea how hard it was to keep from killing him on the spot for slapping Seth like that. No way in hell was I gonna let him do anything else. I’m glad he didn’t notice me cause I got to record the whole thing.”

“That reminds me,” Michael added as he quickly took a picture of the side of my rapidly swelling face with the red print of Kris’s hand.

“Damn, Mike, blind me much?” I complained as I rubbed at my eye.

“He’s not getting himself out of a restraining order this time around,” my brother insisted.

“He’s right,” Liam agreed. “We can’t continue to allow him to stalk you like this…unless, you don’t want us to go that far. Seth?”

I shook my head. “You’re right. My past with Kris and my future with you...it's obvious which one is more important,” I confessed. “I don’t want to even look at him anymore.”

“…I’m also a witness to when Kris cornered Seth against his will at work,” Liam told Michael. “If you need me to testify, or for anything else, I’ll be more than happy to help.”

I felt tears gather in my eyes. They were a result from the stressful situation and the concern and care from my brother and boyfriend. I felt like I didn’t have to face it alone anymore. “Thank you,” I whimpered as I wiped at the tears. “Both of you.”

:::

When we arrived at the house, Liam gently led me inside. But, before he turned to leave, Michael took hold of his elbow.

“Liam…as protective as I am of my favorite brother,” Michael explained. “I still think it’d be better if you slept over tonight.” He shifted a foot sheepishly. “Besides, I snore and fart in my sleep…and sometimes I even kick. It’d just make things worse.”

Liam ruffled the top of Michael’s head in camaraderie and turned towards me. “How do _you_ feel about it, Seth?” He asked.

I nodded. “Please, stay.”


	15. Officially Official

When the sun rose, Michael and I had to convince a reluctant Liam to head out to work. My brother accompanied me to a domestic violence restraining order clinic, and we began the application for a temporary restraining order. We were then assigned to a court and handed the paperwork over to the Bailiff.

In the days that followed, everything felt like a whirlwind to me. I had to explain my situation at work, with family, and with friends. The paperwork was processed, and Kris was served. We attended a court hearing that Locklear never showed up to, which actually made it easier for the restraining order to be granted, especially after Michael and Liam testified. After that, I needed to have a copy of the restraining order with me at all times, which I was more than willing to do.

I had taken the week off so that I could focus on the situation at hand with Kris, paperwork, and court. Michael never left my side and Liam came by every day to eat dinner with us and to give his support. To help distract me, the auburn-haired man took me out on more dates.

Our third official date consisted of a movie. I then spent the night at his apartment over the weekend, which I had fully taken advantage of. Though we didn't go too far when it came to physical intimacy, I managed to convince him to have a little  _more_ physical intimacy than usual. Our fourth official date was a wine and dine in the middle of the following work week. Our fifth, and final, 'official' date would be Friday since it was a day we both had off. We decided to go on a picnic at the state park.

"I never would have taken you for a hiker," Liam responded when I gave him my suggestion as to where we should go.

"I'm not," I explained. "The beginner paths are fine, though. My family and I used to go to the park once every couple of months. Walking in the shade of trees for twenty minutes isn't very tiring, especially not when it's towards the picnic area."

"That sounds great," the auburn-haired man replied. "When should I come over?"

"Around ten. We can walk for a bit, have our picnic," I answered. "And afterward, we could relax and watch movies in your apartment. Is that ok?" I saw his throat's movements as he gulped hard and it made a mischievous smile form on my face.

"Y-yeah, that'd be fine," Liam stated with some difficulty. "Would you be sleeping over, as well?"

I draped my arms over his shoulders as my smile became downright feral. "Since you just invited me, yes. I'll bring enough clothes for the weekend."

"Wait, the whole weekend?" the taller man's voice wavered. "Again?"

"You don't want to spend that much time together?" I questioned in my best innocent tone of voice.

"Of course I do, I just didn't think…will Michael be alright by himself for another weekend?" He asked aloud as if he were grasping at straws.

"Mike prefers not walking in on  _any_ of our activities," I pointed out. Though the two of us hadn't done anything too risky, there was one day that Michael had entered the kitchen while I was seated on the counter trying to swallow Liam's tongue with my legs wrapped around his waist. The college student had shrieked something along the lines of not being prepared to see that first thing in the morning.

"Good point," Liam agreed.

"It's settled, then," I practically purred as I gave him a firm kiss on the lips. "I'll be waiting for you in the morning."

:::

"So, are you gonna take the black silk boxers with you?" Michael teased after I got home from work that night and began to prepare for the picnic and sleepover.

"How did-" I questioned with a frown before shaking my head. "You need to stop reading my journal."

"I haven't been reading it at all lately!" Michael confessed. "The undies thing was in a  _very_  old entry I read years ago. And seeing as how we're all creatures of habit…I merely  _guessed._ "

"Not that it's any of your business, no I'm not," I replied with a weary sigh.

"Either way, have fun sleeping over at Liam's!" Mike concluded with a devious smile. "Don't forget to bring protection! Anything chocolate-flavored would do since Liam's as much of a chocoholic as I am."

"One of these days, Michael, you're going to come across someone you really like," I warned. "When that day comes, I will show you no mercy. I have copies of your baby photos on my phone  _and_ on a protected folder in my laptop."

Michael gasped. "You  _wouldn't,"_ he countered.

"I absolutely would," I countered. "So, you better watch out."

An exaggerated, comical pout formed on Michael's lips. " _Fine_ , I solemnly swear that I'll never read your journal again…unless you're kidnapped or murdered or something."

"Kidnapped or murdered?"

"Yeah, cause then I'd  _have_ to read the journal in case there are any clues," he reasoned adamantly. "No one kidnaps or kills one of my brothers and gets away with it."

I hugged the twenty-year-old from behind the couch and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Did I ever thank you for all of your help in the last month? Especially at court?" I prompted.

"Twice!" Michael admitted with a cheeky grin. After a moment of comfortable silence, his voice took on a more serious tone. "By the way, when are you gonna introduce Liam to the rest of the fam?"

"After this weekend," I answered. "When Liam makes his decision."

"I thought the whole point of the 'five dates' thing was for  _you_ to make  _your_  decision."

"…I'm going to toss in some of the pictures of you cross-dressing along with the baby ones," I declared in response.

"Hey, now that's downright abuse!" Mike argued with a blushing face.

" _You_  don't have a physical journal. Besides, a picture says a thousand words…" I teased.

"But, it's not like I'm  _telling_  anyone about what I've read!" the college student insisted. "Only you."

"Then I'll consider it insurance," I said as I held back a snicker.

"If you ask me, I think he's great for you," Michael replied in a more serious tone of voice. "When it comes to playing around and having fun, Liam and I are more alike than I'd care to admit. But, anyone can see just how much he cares about you."

Though I had been expecting my brother to say something along those lines, I didn't expect it to be so soon. After all, it had only been a month since he started to get to know Liam, compared to the years I spent in denial. In a way, Liam and I had been partners and friends long before we ever began to date. But, to be honest, Michael's opinion mattered a great deal to me. I felt a warmth deep in my chest at the thought of my brother wanting me to be happy.

"Seriously, every time he looks at you he has this dopey lovestruck expression on his face," Mike continued in a teasing tone. "And it's not like anyone can tell him about it since his light brown eyes are so glued to your face that he doesn't know what anyone else is doing around him."

…and with that statement, all the warm and fuzzy feelings dissipated. So, I gave the young man a flick in the back of his ear.

"Ow! But, it's true!"

:::

Liam held the basket, and I held two bags as the two of us made our way to the picnic area we had chosen. The weather was perfect. The trees shaded us from the hot sun.

We passed an elderly couple halfway into our path, but since it was still a weekday, we came across no one else. Our conversation was light as we talked about our childhood memories and the parks that we visited in the past.

"…and my cousin got so stuck that we had to ask an adult to try to lift her back out!" Liam concluded. "I couldn't stop laughing. I think her tears were only due to embarrassment rather than any actual pain."

"My siblings and I knew better than to try to get into the toddler swings when we were too big for them. Our problems were always featured around the slides," I admitted. "We'd burn our thighs, get stuck halfway down, and the sillier ones would bash their faces into them trying to climb up the wrong end."

"That sounds like something Michael would do," Liam pointed out with a grin.

I shook my head. "Actually, it was Antoine. Michael's weakness was always the monkey bars. We'd always find him dangling like a bat from them," I continued. "One time, he was wearing one of Antione's shirts, which was too big on him. When he dangled on the bars, the shirt slid right off his head onto our sister Cara, below. Cara never stopped laughing even when we were in the car on our way home."

"What about you?" Liam asked. "What was your favorite?"

"The big kid swings," I responded. "Even when I was so small that the seat flipped up on either side of me."

"Mine's a toss-up between the see-saws and the merry-go-rounds," Liam confessed. "Even though both were equally as dangerous." He added with a throaty laugh.

Before we knew it, we arrived at the clearing. The picnic area we chose had a roof and four tables, along with a grill. We set our bags and the basket on top of one of them.

Liam caught sight of a large, metal bench swing a few yards away and nodded in that direction. We left the bags at the table and walked over to it. He sat down on one end of it first and took hold of my hand as I sat down next to him.

The swing faced towards a lake. The view was quite peaceful. I felt Liam shifting beside me. He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, urging me closer. I peered up at him, but his gaze was set on the scenery in front of us. In spite of myself, I studied the shape of his chin and cheekbones. He wasn't as gorgeous as a model, and neither was I. But, my heart skipped a beat whenever his honey-hued eyes met mine. I felt joy whenever I got him to smile.

A part of me started to understand what Michael had meant about looking lovestruck. Through my enamored eyes, Liam was goddamn beautiful.

As if he couldn't stand the weight of my gaze any longer, the auburn-haired man glanced at me. I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his midsection in a hug. He gave me a warm kiss in return, one that I felt down to my toes. I don't know if he was the one that pulled me closer or if I was the one who moved first. But, I ended up straddling his lap and all but eating at his mouth. It wasn't until I began to grind harder against him that he finally stopped me. We were both quite aware of our growing arousal. But, I was clearly less concerned about any possible accidents than he was.

In the clear daylight, I was able to study the flecks of golden brown in his eyes and his freckles. He seemed to be studying my face, as well. The words escaped my lips before I realized it.

"Move in with me," I suggested. As his eyes widened in surprise, I continued before I lost my resolve. "Meet the rest of my family. Forget this five-date agreement already…"

Before I was able to continue, I felt his fingers digging into the back of my head as I was pulled into another kiss. Since he initiated it, I conceded the control. As eager as my body was to respond, I realized that I was genuinely happy. When we pulled away, I noticed that Liam seemed to be just as content.

"Then, Seth," he prompted. "Will you officially be my boyfriend, my partner, from here on out?"

"You really enjoy the sound of the word 'official,' don't you?" I teased. "It's not like we're getting married or anything."

I couldn't quite read the expression that formed on Liam's face after that.

"You really wouldn't mind?" the redhead questioned.

"Mind what?"

"Marrying me some day?" Liam clarified.

The blush that rose to my cheeks reminded me of horrible nubile teenage moments of embarrassment that I swore I had outgrown by then. "Well, I'm not entirely  _against_ the idea," I admitted. "Ask me again how I feel about it some three years from now."

I saw the determined glint that formed in his eyes, and I let out a groan of defeat.

"Liam, I swear…" I grumbled. "That  _wasn't_ a deadline or anything."

The wide smirk that formed on his face did nothing to hide the determination in those honey-hued eyes.

"Why do you have to take everything I say so literally!?"

:::

By the time we left the park, it was around two in the afternoon. We went straight to Liam's apartment, where we played a few games, took turns taking showers, and cuddled together in night clothes to watch a TV show. I was in pajamas and Liam wore a soft white shirt and pajama bottoms. A part of me was a bit disappointed. I knew for a fact that Liam generally only wore boxers to bed. So, he seemed to think that the pajama pants and the shirt were an added layer of safety.

He couldn't be more wrong.

"I'm afraid to ask what you're thinking."

The words drew me out of my devious brainstorming long enough to glance over at him. "Hmm?"

Liam took a deep breath before he responded. "What are you thinking about?" He asked hesitantly.

"How to get into your pants," I replied frankly.

"I thought we agreed to wait until the tests come back," Liam reasoned. The two of us had gotten tested some weeks prior, and we wouldn't have the results of the final set for another month or so.

I scowled at him. "Let me rephrase that," I countered. "I'm thinking about  _carefully_ molesting the hell out of you until I see you cum again."

"Why does it feel like groping's similar to a gateway drug for you?" Liam replied with a laugh.

"Because it's closer to the truth than I care to admit," I agreed. "It's just been such a long time, and you were so amazing that last time…if I promise not to go too far or do anything stupid, would it be ok?"

"A part of me wonders what you were like in your college years," the brown-eyed man admitted. "Another part of me wants to remain in blissful ignorance about your past experiences."

"Oh, I was a bit of a nymph," I responded shamelessly. "But, I'm always faithful to the person I'm with." A slight frown formed on my face as a flickering thought of Kris crossed my mind. "The same couldn't be said about some of my past partners."

Liam tugged me closer against him and pressed a kiss to my temple. "I feel the same way you do," he said. "A relationship built on lies and deceit isn't healthy."

I nodded solemnly before breaking the mood. "That's why I'm warning you up front," I replied. "You might have to sleep with one eye open tonight. My hands have a mind of their own sometimes."

The sigh of defeat that followed that statement made me laugh.

:::

I could quite literally see the blinds of my parents' house held open by fingers as we pulled up to the garage. I assumed it was my mother, sister, and middle brother. When Liam and I approached the door, I heard the stomping of several feet and wondered if my siblings were fighting over who got to open the door first. Liam's finger froze halfway into reaching for the doorbell when it swung open, and my grey-eyed sister stood in its place.

"Welcome home!" Cara greeted as she launched herself into my arms.

I hugged her just as tightly as she hugged me. "I'll make proper introductions when we get inside," I urged as the three of us walked in. "Everyone, this is Liam. Liam, this is my sister Cara," I continued as I motioned towards the brunette. "My middle brother, Antoine, my parents, and you already know Michael."

Cara ignored the hand Liam offered and gave him a quick hug. " _Welcome to the family,"_  she whispered, though the sound carried to their ears.

Antoine gave Liam a normal-looking handshake. He had the fairest skin out of all the siblings, which made his blue eyes and brown hair stand out in contrast. But, he was also the shortest.

My parents also gave Liam a handshake. My father's had dark brown hair and grey eyes, and my mother had medium brown hair and blue eyes.

"Pleasure to meet you," Liam concluded his greeting from person to person. He turned towards my dad. "I wanted to take the opportunity to ask for your permission to date your son."

Michael broke the tense silence that immediately followed by laughing. "See? Told you guys he was nothing like Kris," he commented. "Total romantic, too. You'll see what I mean."

" _Mike!"_ I hissed in warning.

"What? They're gonna love him!" Michael defended.

In spite of my concerns, there weren't many awkward moments, if at all, during the dinner with my family. Liam sat across from me with Antoine on his left and Michael on his right, who helped him keep the conversation going. Overall, it had been quite nice.

As I hugged my family members goodbye later that night, I saved Michael for last. He had moved out immediately when he found out that Liam planned on moving in with me. Though he was as mischievous as could be, I missed having him around constantly.

" _It's good to see you so happy,"_ he whispered into my ear as he gave me a tight hug.

I mouthed the words 'thank you' to him before Liam, and I made our way back to the car.

"So, what did you and my father talk about after dinner?" I asked as we drove back to our house.  _Our_ house…it was amazing how easily it was to regard it as such after only a few months.

"The usual," Liam responded with a half-smirk. "Not to break his favorite son's heart."

"My dad doesn't play favorites," I argued.

"As far as  _you_ know, he doesn't," the other man pointed out.

As I glanced out the window, I thought of the week ahead.

"Are you going to allow me to congratulate you on your promotion?" I taunted. Our test results had finally arrived on Wednesday, but Liam had insisted on waiting until the weekend. The day before was a Tuesday staff meeting in which he had been officially promoted as the director of his own department.

"No," Liam responded. "I don't want our first time together to be attached to any specific event."

"How much longer are you going to make me wait, Liam?" I whispered.

A smirk formed on the auburn-haired man's face. "About ten more minutes."

I glanced over at him, confused. Hadn't he just said he didn't want our first time to correlate with an event?

"We are going to make love for the sake of exploring one another further," Liam elaborated, his voice falling a sultry octave. " _Not_  because of some promotion."

I tried not to squirm or adjust myself. "Well, I'm  _not_ sorry for anything I've done in the meantime," I stated.

"If you can't walk properly at work Monday morning," Liam replied. "It's because you've brought it upon yourself."

I couldn't help the devious grin that formed on my face. "If I can't walk properly Monday morning, I'm calling out. And you can be the one to explain why to Kathryn all by yourself," I countered.

"Now that's just cruel," the redhead responded through a grin of his own.

When we finally arrived back home, it took me longer than usual to get the damn door open. I was lit up inside with pure excitement and anticipation. The relief I felt to know that Liam had been just as anxious as I was the entire time…the feeling was indescribable. We were on the same page. We both wanted this.

I had barely locked the door before I was pinned against it. My arms wrapped around Liam's shoulders as I tried my best to keep from humping his leg like the depraved man I was. No words were spoken between us. The sounds of our frantic make-out session echoed in the hallway as we made our way to the bedroom.

The suction of lips against lips, the thumping of limbs against walls, and the thud of shoes being kicked off were the sounds that followed us as we stumbled through the door. I don't know how we made it onto the bed naked, but when I felt Liam's leg slide between mine and the warmth of his body above, I realized that we were finally there.

My hands slid up and down Liam's back as he leaned back down for another heady kiss. I spread my legs wide to accommodate him and bent enough so that one of my hands was able to squeeze one of his incredibly round mounds.

I felt his hardened shaft sliding against mine as he gently rocked forward and backward. He then made his way lower, and I felt his member sliding beneath my sack and between my own butt cheeks. The redhead continued to dip down and back as if it were a small taste of what he really wanted to do to me.

His mouth nipped at my chest, the tongue swiping at one of my nipples as he continued to grind against me. I was so hard. My legs were curled over his thighs and my fingers raked roughly into wavy auburn locks.

I felt more than saw Liam kissing his way down my body, effortlessly dropping my legs back down in the process. I felt slick fingers against my entrance and briefly wondered when he had coated them in lube. I squirmed and bucked when those long fingers made their way inside me.

" _Liam!"_  I gasped in both surprise and pleasure. His honey-hued eyes were full of fire as they raked over my body and then locked on my own.

In what felt like no time at all, Liam was sliding his hard shaft inside. The heat and stretch were quite wonderful. But, the rolling moan that fell from his lips was even better.

"S-Seth," he hissed as he began to rock inside me.

My arms once again slid over his shoulder and arms. Liam caught one of my hands and used it to pin my arm down beside my face as he began to thrust faster. He then reached down and behind to lift my left leg up, causing me to bend and curl my other leg tighter around him.

The rhythm of his movements picked up another notch, and I cried out as the pleasure began to build inside. He only slowed down to grab the back of my neck with his free hand and used the hold as leverage to slam inside harder.

"Yes!" I gasped, drawing in a loud breath of air. " _Fuck_  yes!"

My name once again fell from his panting lips as one of my hands raked a path down Liam's back. Somewhere down the line, I took hold of the shaft between us and jerked it. My hand pumped erratically as I took in the sensation of the other man's flesh sliding along a more sensitive area inside me.

"Liam…" I whimpered just as burst after burst of cum expelled from the head of my shaft and spilling over my abdomen and chest. Mere moments later, I felt the unmistakable warmth of Liam's seed inside me.

The other man's ragged breath blew softly against my ear as he shifted onto his elbow to keep from crushing me with his weight. I pressed soft kisses to his shoulder, which was the nearest stretch of skin I could reach.

"Liam?"

"You ok, Seth?" Came the concerned question.

"I'm infinitely better than just 'ok,' you know," I responded with a snicker. "I'm actually a little mind blown at the moment."

Liam lifted his head to look at my face. He had a wide, salacious smile and looked to be quite satisfied. "That's funny," he replied and paused to press a soft kiss on my lips. "I feel the same."

My eyes fell on a cloth draped across the headboard of the bed. "Heh," I scoffed. "Looks like yet another one of my pants ended up ripped at the seam." I mused aloud as I motioned towards it.

The auburn-haired man grinned. "Do you want to borrow my leather pants again?" He suggested.

"No," I responded. "I'd much rather remain naked for our next round."

I would never tire of the sound of Liam's voice chuckling.

::

"I can't believe you're already graduating," I sighed as I reached out to gently tug at my youngest brother's hair.

"Hey," Michael huffed playfully as he raked his jet-black hair back. The locks had grown long, and he recently had it cut to his chin with the lower half shaved so that he could pull the top half back into a small ponytail. "Why do you sound so surprised? I'm not  _that_ dumb."

"You're not dumb at all, Mike," I responded as I placed my hands on my hips. "I taught you better than that. I did teach you how to read, after all."

A wide grin formed on the younger man's face. "And if I didn't find  _fun_  things around to read, like your journal, I'd have gotten bored of it long ago," he confessed.

"Don't make me beat you up before your graduation," I grumbled in complaint.

"I kid, I kid," Mike replied. "Though I admit that the content in your journal was tons more interesting than Cara or Ant's."

"I didn't know Antoine had a journal!" I blurted out loud.

"Pssh, it was so dry," Michael elaborated. "Like his Instagram posts."

The two of us locked gazes, and that was all it took to burst out into laughing. When we were no longer taking in shaky breaths of air, I reached out to gently shove his shoulder. "So, what would you like for a graduation gift?" I prompted.

A mischievous glint formed in Mike's hazel eyes. His were the most unique in the family, grey and brown with a touch of saffron in a ring around the pupil. As lovely as they were, they spelled out doom for me whenever my brother had something devious in mind.

"You'll see, big bro," he admitted.

But, the words didn't bring me any comfort at all.

::

The whole family looked sharp and elegant for Michael's graduation day. Even Liam looked like he could have stepped right out of a men's fashion catalog. When his name was called, Michael walked across the stage shaking the hands of everyone there. Just before walking off the stage, he sent us a smug expression and a salute before heading out back to find his certificate amongst his peers.

When we caught up with him, he was giving his best friend Gigi a congratulatory hug and wishing some of their other classmates well. Some of those classmates along with Gigi herself would be joining us later that night for a reception party. We took so many pictures and video clips that the batteries on Cara's camera died.

After the sun set, we were all in slightly more casual attire. We ate, drank, and danced. Extended family members were there, as well as friends and neighbors that had seen Michael growing up. My siblings, Liam, and I led every single group dance that the DJ played for us, urging the crowd to join us. Overall, it was a fantastic day full of bittersweet memories (especially when all siblings started remembering moments of our youth and the hilarious trouble Michael always caused throughout the years) and pure joy. I didn't think I could feel any happier.

I was wrong.

Before the night was over, as everyone began to settle down after much dancing, Michael borrowed the microphone from the DJ and commanded everyone's attention.

"Family and friends!" Michael began as he waved an arm up in the air. When the chatter died down, he continued. "First of all, I want to thank all of you for joining us in this graduation celebration. I want to congratulate the fellow graduates that are here; we made it guys!" He then scanned the crowd.

"There's someone here that has a special graduation gift for me," Mike revealed. "So, I'm going to hand this right over to him."

My eyes widened when I saw Liam stand up beside me and headed over to the offered microphone. "Hello everyone, my name is Liam Lux. Most of you recognize me as Seth's partner, as I've had the pleasure to meet most of you throughout the last few years…" I was confused when those brown eyes focused on me.

"Michael's older brother once joked about a particular deadline," he said as he walked towards me. "But, I'm here to say that I'm dead serious…" My throat closed right up when Michael rushed over to take the microphone, and Liam knelt before me and held out a small jewelry box.

A part of me hoped it was a joke and something else was in that box…a key, a card, some other kind of jewelry. But when he opened it, the diamond-studded band downright glinted beneath the lights. I swallowed hard.

I don't know how I managed to drown out the wild cheering that erupted in the room, but the noise around me finally registered when I felt Liam slide the ring onto my left ring finger. The coldness of the platinum band was quickly eliminated by the heat that every inch of my skin emitted. I gasped when Liam pulled me out of my chair and into a tight hug.

" _Slater or Lux?"_  he asked in a whisper right beside my ear.

I didn't respond with words. I merely pulled him into a kiss. From that night onward, my journal was signed Seth Lux.

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END

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End file.
